I recently attended a showing by Glenn Bruce Hamm at a gallery of which the name escapes me. But what made this showing most intriguing was that the artist had died over 20 years ago. The showing was put together by his son in attempt to sell some of his father’s work which was cluttering his basement.

Hamm began working as an artist in the early1950s. He started out drawing and painting nudes in a classical style and also taught nude drawing classes at VCU. Later in his career he began exploring more contemporary mediums and subject matter. He did explorations into perspective and color as well as screen printing and collage work. He was most notably inspired by Ray Bradbury novels which include Farenheit 451 and Dandelion Wine and the Ingman Bergman film The Seventh Seal.

The showing was quite refreshing compared to the many other galleries I attended that evening. It seemed to lack the pretense and haughty air of the other galleries packed with yuppies drinking wine. Hamm’s style may have not been the most original but his subject matter was inviting. I especially enjoyed the small little cartoon books displayed, each filled with little gems of knowledge pertaining to life that he manged to put into word. He screened mainly with black and white inks removing most depth from the piece and bringing the viewer in much closer in attempt to see what distance could not reveal. Here is where you see the influence of Bergman’s black and white film come into play. His nudes were often photographic in quality with the models facing odd directions or placed amongst strange scenery forcing the viewer to create their own interpretation of the piece. His exploration into perspective was reminiscent of Escher’s upside down stairs, yet done with much more vibrant color and active subject matter. At the very end of his career I feel he took a turn for the worse with pieces exploring hallucinogenic-like visions. Perhaps this was sign of the time period and the drugs abused during it. These works left me feeling dry, like the artist was making art for a cheesy movie set. The emotion seemed to be forced and uninspired.

Hamm died in 1979 of Lou Gherig’s disease, perhaps before his time had come. But, the small piece of his life that was art remains today giving us an insight into the small genius. Hamm is no artist worthy of the attention received by Van Gogh after his death., but his work is not to be ignored. Overall the showing was great. It grabbed me in a way others could not. The aspect of looking at art that otherwise would be hidden in someone’s basement was far more delighting than walking into what sometimes almost feels like a sales pitch by an artist. I had a chance to speak to Hamm’s son before I left and he gave me a very vague recollection of his father. I am glad he at least his artwork.