They are on walls, on Facebook, cellphone apps and more.
The visual bait usually radiates a haunting and beautiful serenity that might be a pastoral scene or landscape, the ocean lapping the shore, stars twinkling in outer space or a warm and fuzzy animal vignette. Then words come into focus: “Believe and Succeed,” “Be the Bridge” and others that extol integrity, teamwork, going that extra mile and more.
It’s motivational art, images designed to, yes, motivate good work habits and behavior in the workplace and society. But it’s hardly new.
A fascinating exhibition at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Gallery 1 sheds light on the motivational art of the 1920s. “Say It With Snap!: Motivating Workers by Design, 1923-1929” was organized by Exhibits USA and the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
During that time frame, Chicago-based Mather &Co. released colorful posters with catchy slogans designed to inspire and motivate workers to be their best and most productive. While some of these invoke nostalgia or may seem a little cheesy or campy, the messages still mostly ring true. And the designs and colors of these framed lithographs are wonderful.
The works were created by illustrators such as Robert Beebe and William Frederic Elmes and published by Mather & Co. The works range from figurative to flat graphic pieces that hint at art deco, art nouveau, arts and crafts movement and a German poster style from the early 1900s.
Some outstanding pieces: A man plays a saxophone while another is clearly annoyed. The headline: “I-Me-My-Mine is not harmony.” It warns against “tooting your own horn” and urges one to “play something that everybody enjoys.” A vivid green, yellow and purple design underscores the point. Against an almost Pepto-Bismol pink, a tiger stalks through vegetation toward the viewer, his teeth bared. “Ready to Spring!” says the headline, as it works toward a theme of correcting mistakes before they come back to haunt a worker.
Elmes’ “Worry Bags No Game,” in vivid orange and greens, features a rhinoceros to encourage people to face their troubles. “Half your mind on worry and half on work gets you only ‘half’ results,” the poster says. “Facing troubles kills them.” Other pieces hint at a Maxfield Parrish romanticism.
It’s a show well worth motivating yourself to see.
Through March 16, “Say It With Snap!: Motivating Workers by Design, 1923-1929,” through March 16, Gallery 1, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Info: (501) 569 8977, ualr.edu/art/galleries.
THE TRAVELIN’ ARTIST
Neal Harrington, who won a Delta Award at the 2013 Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center, has an impressive show of woodcuts and linoleum cuts at Cantrell Gallery.
Harrington’s large-scale woodcuts are stunning in theme, rich in detail and execution. His style evokes the energetic drawings of Charles Banks Wilson and Thomas Hart Benton with the comic book looseness and aplomb of R. Crumb. Harrington taps folklore, classical themes and his rich imagination with his distinctive style.
There are two parts to the exhibit by Harrington, professor of art at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. One side of the gallery space is devoted to single, stand-alone works. Especially impressive are the large-scale black-and-white woodcuts Neptune’s Dilemma and Roller Venus ($2,000 each). In the former, a boat floats out to sea, a wrapped body on board and flames soaring in the air. In the foreground, an ax is embedded in a stump, the rope holding the boat to land severed. Venus is a goddess of love with a ’50s punk/biker sensibility. She carries a tray of food in one hand, a tray of beer in the other as she roller skates to her tables. The piece crackles with a vibrant, appealing energy. Harrington explores classical themes in The Abduction of Europa ($2,000).
Across the way is “Hard Travelin’ Man” ($350 each, $7,000 for the set), a series of 20 linoleum cuts that illustrates a narrative the artist describes as “a visual ballad.” An apt description, as Harrington illustrates what could easily be a blues or folk song-style story about a child inspired by a musician who becomes one, but without a happy ending. It is a clear narrative, almost graphic novel-like as each piece moves the story forward, yet can function alone as a fine piece of art.
“Music, Myth & The Hard Travelin’ Man,” through March 1, Cantrell Gallery, 8206 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Info: (501) 224-1335, cantrellgallery.com.
ART GROUP MOVES
The Art Group conducted an experiment for the Christmas shopping season, opening what the artists co-op thought might be a temporary gallery space in the Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. The move was a success and the group has left its Maumelle digs for Suite 910 at Pleasant Ridge.
An open house has been scheduled for 4-8 p.m. Friday. For information, call Holly Tilley at (501) 690-2193 or visit the website theartgroupmaumelle.com. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday.
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Style, Pages 45 on 02/02/2014