BERNIE TAUPINRAGGED GLORY | ART AMERICANA

BERNIE TAUPINRAGGED GLORY | ART AMERICANA

980 BRIARCLIFF ROAD NEATLANTA, GA 30306

THE BURIAL OF WILLIAM SYCAMORE

BURLAP, CHICKEN WIRE, FLAG MATERIAL, CORD, SCORCH,

CORRUGATED CARDBOARD, PLEXIGLASS ON CANVAS

36X60, 2017

FOREWARD

I am very pleased to introduce Bernie Taupin’s solo exhibition at

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.

Taupin’s art is a convergence of Abstract Expressionism, American

history, and various forms of American music, such as Jazz, Folk,

and Blues. A renowned lyricist and wordsmith, Taupin blends music

and art seamlessly. He creates imagery through words, and he

incorporates words into his images– all of which are infused with a

rugged, unmistakably American essence of soaring above adversity.

His recent works are paintings and assemblage pieces that may

contain guitars, the American flag, scorch, wood, intricate webs

of crisscrossed twine, broken records, and layers of torn fabric or

corrugated cardboard. Oftentimes, strong messages such as “We

shall overcome” and “I shall not speak with restraint” are painted

or stencilled on. These works are comparable to those of modernist

artists such as Ed Ruscha, Jasper Johns, Anselm Kiefer, and Jenny

Holzer.

Patriotism is the key theme in Taupin’s flag pieces. His flags are

treated as if, simultaneously, to protect and venerate our national

symbol, while also revealing our collective fighting spirit wherever

injustice or hardship occurs.

CHRISTINA BRAY GALLERY DIRECTOR CALLANWOLDE FINE ARTS CENTER JUNE, 2017

CIVIL WAR TRILOGY I - THE UNION

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

36 X 48, 2014

CIVIL WAR TRILOGY II - BATTLE DRESS

ACRYLIC, CORRUGATED CARDBOARD, FABRIC ON CANVAS

36 X 30, 2014

CIVIL WAR TRILOGY III - THE COMING OF THE LORD

ACRYLIC AND FABRIC ON CANVAS

48 X 36, 2014

RAGGED GLORY

My father was a quiet soldier who went to war in the desert

fighting Rommel’s Afrika Corps before he became part of

the “Forgotten Army” that pushed the Japanese out of the

jungles of Burma. He won several medals for bravery, but never

discussed his experiences. Reserved and modest, he chose to

store them away until I grew to an age were my inquisitiveness

forced his hand. Needless to say he remained a soldier all his

life even after he was long out of uniform. I say this with a sense

of pride; I also say it as a means to establish my feelings for

symbols of patriotism, the foremost being the flag that flies

above that which we serve.

Of all the flags of all the nations, you would be hard-pressed to

find one having a more far-reaching effect on the psyche of the

world than our own Stars and Stripes. There are flags, and there

are flags, and then there is Old Glory, its dramatic symbolism

and powerful connotations reverberating with undeniable

influence. Nations may quibble, but no other country displays its

flag with more diligence and fervor than the U.S. On the main

street of my little town in southern California, you can stand

in the gas station and see eight American flags flying above

grocery stores, barber shops, coffee houses, schools and private

homes. There is a bond between the American people and their

flag that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world. The

handling of the flag, however, comes with an explicit set of rules,

and this is where ideology and interpretation can clash.

There is a rigid respect and almost clinical kid-glove approach

to flag etiquette that one might argue seems ironic given its

history. It’s a touchy subject made all the more sensitive given

the nature of my work that some may interpret as disrespectful.

Rest assured my motives are honorable. Every slash and burn,

every stain and embellishment, all the billowing, twisting and

folding, stitching and deconstruction are intended to project a

sense of strength and resilience in the face of abject adversity.

The correct way to dispose of a flag is by destroying it in a

dignified manner preferably by burning it, while my way of

respecting it is by breathing new life into it.

The United States flag has been shot through, shot down,

trampled under foot and hidden under the floorboards of POW

camps. She’s been defaced by our enemies, ripped by ill winds,

raised at Iwo Jima and rescued from the rubble of 9/11. Between

1777 and 1960 the flag has changed face 27 times embracing

its extended horizon. It has forged heroes and inspired poets,

painters and authors. It is celebrated in song and eulogized like

a living breathing entity.

I am equally as thrilled as others by the reverence afforded

her and the pageantry that unifies great crowds whenever our

anthem is played and that pristine beauty snaps in the wind.

Although having said, that I think I’m always going to be a little

bit in love with the organic grass roots version, slightly rough

around the edges and flapping above some small town county

courthouse - that ragged old glory.

BERNIE TAUPIN

DETAIL OF THEY PLACED HER IN A GLASS COFFIN AND AWAITED HER REAWAKENING

THEY PLACED HER IN A GLASS COFFIN AND AWAITED HER REAWAKENING

FLAG MATERIAL, RESIN, SCORCH, PLEXIGLASS IN CANVAS STRETCHER

30 x 60, 2016

PRISONERS OF WAR

CORD, FLAGS, NAILS, FIXATIVE, SCORCH,

CANVAS FRAME ON PANEL

50 x 31, 2016

FRAGMENT

ACRYLIC, FLAG MATERIAL, SCORCH, RESIN,

CORRUGATED CARDBOARD ON CANVAS

60 X 36, 2016

SLEEPING BEAUTY IV

COLORED CORD, FIXATIVE, FLAG MATERIAL ON CANVAS

36 X 60, 2017

BERNIE TAUPIN is a lifelong visual artist. In the early 1990’s painting

became the main thrust of his creative endeavors. In his early work

Taupin was inspired by groundbreaking Abstract Expressionists

including Hans Hoffman, Franz Kline, Anselm Kiefer, and Robert

Rauschenberg.

Taupin says, “As in any creative field, we start by emulating work

we like, following the path that ultimately leads to finding our own

vision, a style we feel is original and unique in its own beliefs, on its

own merits.”

Taupin artwork evolved from Ab-Ex explorations to a level of self-

satisfaction followed by experimentations with text-based content

and minimalist Pop Art concepts. By 2016 and 2017 works become

sculptural constructions off and through the canvas and bound

with cord and wire. Expressing with found objects and repurposed

material and artifacts, Taupin’s multi-layered creations include

manipulated flags, scorch, paper, wax, wire, wood, corrugated

cardboard, fabric, bubble wrap, and resin.

“The imagination is the most powerful tool artists possess enabling

us to conjure up beautiful distraction for the eyes and ears.

My dimensional work is simply the visual extension of what I have

spent my life creating through words.”

BERNIE TAUPIN, 2017

THE SHIPWRECK NEWS

FABRIC, ASH, WOOD, NEWSPRINT, GAUZE,

STAIN ON PANEL

(RIGHT) 66 X 28, 2015

THE BARRICADE

FLAGS, WOOD, ASH, FABRIC, RESIN,

TWINE ON PANEL

(ABOVE) 20 x 48, 2015

Born in very rural northern England on a farm in a house with no

electricity. Taupin’s earliest education came from his mother reading him

English classics including the narrative poetry of Alfred Lord Tennyson

and Lord Macaulay and exploring picture books of the paintings of

J.M.W. Turner and Paul Gaugin. Bernie’s father, a decorated World War

II veteran, became a stockman and farmer after the war. Growing up in

post WWII Europe with appreciation that America led the way to victory,

Bernie’s earliest imaginations aligned himself with the dreams of America.

Fascinated by the history of America and the American West, eight year

old Bernie begins to write stories and dreams of becoming a cowboy.

The 17-year-old Taupin answered an advertisement for new song-writers

placed by the London branch of Liberty Records. There were many

applicants including former child prodigy Reginald Dwight who had been

admitted to the Royal Academy of Music at age 11, then a 20-year-old

talented pianist and singer. Both were rejected but encouraged to work

together and develop their writing talents for other British performers.

Bernie writes “Your Song.” Reginald composes music for it and a dozen

more Taupin writings.

Taking the names of two of his friends, Reginald becomes Elton John. The

album “Elton John” is released in the United States. The rest is 50 years of

creative writing history.

The book Bernie Taupin: The One Who Writes the Words for Elton John is

published.

Bernie buys a ranch in California and becomes a real ‘brown dirt cowboy’

raising and showing cutting horses.

The Taupin auto-biography, A Cradle of Halos: Sketches of a Childhood is

published in England.

Builds art studio at the ranch.

Bernie Taupin commences national and international art exhibitions.

1950

1958

1967

1968

1970

1985

1976

1988

1995

2010

“I’ve been called a writer, poet, lyricist, painter, sculptor. I prefer: Artist.”

BERNIE TAUPIN

POP AMERIKA

CANDY WRAPPERS, TRADING CARDS, COMICS, PLAYING CARDS,

BANDAGES, DUCT TAPE, NAILS, ACRYLIC, FLAG MATERIAL, WAX,

CORD ON STRETCHER BARS

60 X 36 X 4, 2016

INTERMISSION

TWINE, WAX, PAPER, FABRIC, FLAG MATERIAL, SCORCH,

CANVAS ON CANVAS FRAME

60 X 48, 2016

FROM ASHES

CORRUGATED CARDBOARD, CHICKEN WIRE, FLAGS, WOOD, WIRE, SCORCH,

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

48 x 60, 2016

AMERICAN GUITARS I - FOLK SINGER

GUITAR PARTS, FLAG MATERIAL, NEWSPRINT, STAIN,

SCORCH, ACRYLIC ON PANEL

36 X 41.5, 2017

AMERICAN GUITARS II - PROTEST SINGER

GUITAR PARTS, FLAG MATERIAL, SCORCH, PAPER,

ACRYLIC ON PANEL

36 X 41.5, 2017

AMERICAN GUITARS III - DELTA BLUES SINGER

GUITAR PARTS, FLAG MATERIAL, CORRUGATED CARDBOARD,

ALBUM COVER, VINYL, SCORCH, RESIN, ACRYLIC ON PANEL

36 X 41.5, 2017

DETAIL ON COVER

AMERICAN GUITARS IV - HILL COUNTRY SINGER

GUITAR PARTS, FLAG MATERIAL, BIBLE PAGES,

SCORCH, ACRYLIC ON PANEL

36 X 41.5, 2017

WHEN WOODY GUTHRIE LEFT OKLAHOMA

ACRYLIC, FABRIC, WOOD, STENCIL CASINGS, WAX,

TWINE ON CANVAS

60 x 48, 2015

NORMAN ROCKWELL CRIED LAST NIGHT

WOOD, CHEESECLOTH, WAX, RESIN, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

60 x 48, 2015

“THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS”

WORLD’S MOST WANTED

FLAG, RESIN, TWINE, TAPE, ATLAS MAPS ON PANEL

36 X 60, 2016

MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY

FABRIC, WOOD, PENCIL, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

60 x 48, 2014

MONDO POLITICO

PLASTIC MASKS, TWINE, ACRYLIC ENAMEL ON CANVAS

41.5 X 36, 2017

MARTYRS IN THE CORNFIELD

BURLAP, CHICKEN WIRE, RESIN, CORRUGATED CARDBOARD, SCORCH, CORD, FLAG MATERIAL, ACRYLIC ON PANEL

24.5 X 37, 2016

I SHALL NOT SPEAK WITH RESTRAINT

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

60 X 48, 2004

RAGGED GLORY II

CHICKEN WIRE, GAUZE, STRING, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

30 X 30, 2013

UNITY NOT DIVISION

PENCIL, LEATHER, CORD, FABRIC, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

48 X 36, 2012

ANARCHAEOLOGY

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

40 X 30, 2015

I DO NOT PLAY NO ROCK N ROLL

ACRYLIC, WAX, ASH, PAPER, SCORCH,

CHICKEN WIRE, GUITAR PARTS ON PANEL

(FACING PAGE) 48 X 72, 2016

DICK DALE DIED FOR YOUR SINS

GUITAR, GUITAR CABLE, SCORCH,

FLAG MATERIAL, TWINE, CASSETTES,

CORRUGATED CARDBOARD, WOOD,

ACRYLIC ON PANEL

(LEFT) 48 X 19.5, 2017

FROM THE BURNING HOUSE OF LINK WRAY

GUITAR, GUITAR CABLE, SCORCH, LABELS,

RESIN ON SCORCHED PANEL

(RIGHT) 53 X 17.5, 2017

RED, WHITE, BLUE GUITARS

GUITAR PARTS, ACRYLIC ENAMEL, CORRUGATED CARDBOARD ON PANEL

41.5 X 24, 2017

THE CURRENCY OF DENIAL IS NOT ACCEPTED

FLAG MATERIAL, FIXATIVE, SCORCH, IN CANVAS STRETCHERS ON PANEL

48 x 108, 2017

THE PATRIOTS SUITE

Bernie Taupin is a lifelong creative genius. THE PATRIOTS SUITE combines

his visual art with elements for which he is most known, his writing. His

words, whether they be poetry, lyrics, or other writings, are among the

most well-known in popular culture.

Taupin’s lyrics, as narrative poetry put to music by Elton John, allow the

listener and reader to find their own interpretations in their own personal

context.

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE together is an important symbolic concept.

Each artwork separately is a colorful metaphor in its own measure.

THE PATRIOTS SUITE was conceived in celebration of the Bernie Taupin

RAGGED GLORY | ART AMERICANA exhibition at The Callanwolde Fine

Arts Center Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, October 12 - December 12, 2017.

The midpoint of the exhibition is a tribute to peace at the end of World

War I, celebrating Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day

throughout the world. The peace treaty was signed at the 11th hour of the

11th day of the 11th month, 1918.

Each work in THE PATRIOTS SUITE (RED, WHITE, BLUE) is an archival

pigment print with brush embellishing on heavyweight archival 17 x 22”

paper from an edition of 111 individually signed by Bernie Taupin.

BRETT PEZZUTO

CHRISTIAN PEZZUTO

SCOT LINDVALL

MR/MRS CHARLES ROVEN

ATLAS ENTERTAINMENT

TOM GUSTAFSON

MR./MRS. TIM AND ROBIN CARGILE

MR./MRS. MICHAEL SCHWARTZ

GALERIE MICHAEL

MR. RICHIE SAMBORA

MR./MRS. ANDREW KROLL

HON. JANE HARMAN

RAVAGO MANUFACTURING AMERICAS

EXXON CORP

CHARLIE HENDON

SIR ELTON JOHN AND DAVID FURNISH

DANIEL CROSBY, LIMELIGHT AGENCY

DANA YARGER, BRETON FINE ART

TIMOTHY YARGER FINE ART

BRYAN JENNINGS

KEVIN O’LEARY

BRUCE BEAL, SR.

RELATED PROPERTIES

ROBERT ROBLIN

ANA HOLLINGER

KM FINE ART

NICHOLAS KORNILOFF

PAMELA COHEN

DEBARTOLO FAMILY

GREG LOEBEL

GRANT GUSTAFSON

DOUGLAS & SHARON BECKER

DENNIS RATNER

JULIANNE WHITE RATNER

SUZANNE NIEDLAND

LARRY DE GEORGE

LAKESHORE ENERGY CAPITAL

SIDNEY KIMMEL

MR./MRS. DOUG WOLFORD

MR./MRS. JAMES FIEBER

MANUEL & ELISABETH HENRIQUEZ

PARTIAL LIST OF COLLECTIONS

RAGGED GLORY | ART AMERICANA EXHIBITION PRESENTED BY

THE CALLANWOLDE FINE ARTS CENTER GALLERY

WITH SUPPORT BY HENDON PROPERTIES.

I DON’T LIKE TO BRAG

BUT WE’RE KINDA PROUD OF THAT RAGGED OLD FLAG

YOU SEE, WE GOT A LITTLE HOLE IN THAT FLAG THERE

WHEN WASHINGTON TOOK IT ACROSS THE DELAWARE.

AND IT GOT POWDER-BURNED THE NIGHT FRANCIS SCOTT KEY

SAT WATCHING IT, WRITING “SAY CAN YOU SEE”

IT GOT A RIP IN NEW ORLEANS

WITH PACKINGHAM & JACKSON TUGGING AT ITS SEAMS.

AND IT ALMOST FELL AT THE ALAMO

BESIDE THE TEXAS FLAG, BUT SHE WAVED ON THOUGH.

SHE GOT CUT WITH A SWORD AT CHANCELLORSVILLE

AND SHE GOT CUT AGAIN AT SHILOH HILL.

THERE WAS ROBERT E. LEE AND BEAUREGARD AND BRAGG

AND THE SOUTH WIND BLEW HARD ON THAT RAGGED OLD FLAG

ON FLANDERS FIELD IN WORLD WAR I

SHE GOT A BIG HOLE FROM A BERTHA GUN

SHE TURNED BLOOD RED IN WORLD WAR II

SHE HUNG LIMP, AND LOW, A TIME OR TWO

SHE WAS IN KOREA, VIETNAM

SHE WENT WHERE SHE WAS SENT BY HER UNCLE SAM...

LYRICS EXCERPTED FROM “RAGGED OLD FLAG” BY JOHNNY CASH

JOHNNY CASH

FABRIC, RESIN, GLAZE ON CANVAS

48 X 72, 2013

“Consider them not just art, but more the musings of a vivid imagination.”

ARCHITECTS+ARTISANS 2014

“One of the more potent aspects of Taupin’s practice is the way in which he

‘re-purposes’ materials.”

ARTY NELSON, ART CRITIC, LOS ANGELES 2016

“With 20 years of painting under his belt, Taupin’s personally and politically

charged visual works demand just as much of your attention.”

CULTUREMAP, AUSTIN 2013

“Most highly creative individuals are capable of inspired work in different artistic

fields, but few achieve it; Taupin has.”

RAY WATERHOUSE, NEW YORK 2016

“Outside of the incredibly productive partnership [Elton John], Taupin also

nurtured an acute visual sensibility and infatuation with the revolutionary

developments of Modernism.”

ARTSPACE 2014

“I have it easy. I have someone who creates the story. Bernie’s lyrics to me are

visual.”

SIR ELTON JOHN

“Taupin’s work looks right at home hanging next to Jackson Pollock, Hans Hofmann

and Willem DeKooning,”

MARK BORGHI, PALM BEACH 2017

“Within the abstract languages of the AbEx painters, Taupin was able to find his

own visual vocabulary.”

NASHVILLE ARTS 2013

“Bernie Taupin’s artwork, initiated both by Turner’s stormy Romanticism and the

sandstorms of America’s West, continues to demarcate a place of promising, even

spiritual tranquility.”

DAVID MACFADYEN, ART CRITIC, PHD, UCLA 2016

“ Taupin’s flair for serious abstraction and his experiments with mediums make for a

memorable exhibition.”

ART+AUCTION 2014

“Taupin demonstrates a powerful chemistry and instinctive aptitude with painterly

shapes and color. “

BRUCE HELANDER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE FELLOW,

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 2016

“ The work is grounded in reality that our eyes are accustomed to and yet it seems

to achieve a new plane of achievement.”

MARK BORGHI, NEW YORK, RETROSPECTIVE 2015

“ Taupin’s vigorous abstractions are extensions of his id. Post-minimal and

audaciously experimental.”

DOUG MCCLEMONT, NEW YORK 2015

“ Bernie Taupin is an artist who expresses himself via words-creating some of

the most popular enduring songs of all time - and with paint, twine and flags

provocative paintings and sculptures.”

ARTMIAMI 2016

“ Taupin, a lifelong creative, became a master storyteller and often references

themes of America and the American West in his writing and in his

abstract artworks.”

DANA YARGER, CURATOR, LOS ANGELES 2014

“ Music and art is an inevitable collision. I personally gravitated from one to the

other because I desire to create on a different topical level and simply because

visceral visual art exerts an almost narcotic drive in me.”

BERNIE TAUPIN, INTERVIEW MAGAZINE 2015

“Creating artwork is a 24/7 endeavor. It’s how I see myself now.”

BERNIE TAUPIN 2017

COMMENTARY ON BERNIE TAUPIN

CALLANWOLDE FINE ARTS CENTER

980 BRIARCLIFF ROAD NE, ATLANTA, GA 30306

404 872 5338 | CALLANWOLDE.ORG