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Art in Less Than Six Degrees: Cover artist Gretchen Armbruster
by Jamey “Two Degrees of Separation” Landry
How many people—to say nothing of just artists—have you heard of that practically have only one degree of separation from actor Kevin Bacon?
The list is undoubtedly short, but perhaps Gretchen Armbruster should be on your list.
The Six Degrees of Separation theory is somewhat synonymous with the Small-world Phenomenon theory. They both attempt to prove empirically that, through association, everyone on earth is no more than six steps away from anyone else on earth. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, however, is not nearly as noble or brainy. It is actually a movie trivia game invented by college students who probably should have better spent their time studying. Similar to the small-world phenomenon, the game attempts to link all movie actors, living and dead, to Kevin Bacon as “the center of the movie universe” in less than six connections through movies two actors have appeared in. For Gretchen, her one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon came about through the creation of a prop featured in the 1991 movie “He Said, She Said,” starring Sharon Stone and, of course, Kevin Bacon.
“I went to high school with the set director,” Gretchen recalls, “and he called me and asked if I would create a sketchbook.” Stone’s character in the movie is an artist; naturally, an artist would have at least one sketchbook. “The drawings had to look like pen and sepia tone drawings, in the Da Vinci style.”
For authenticity, the entire sketchbook was filled with drawings on every page. On screen, the actors are shown leafing through the thick book. They pause on one page in particular, which becomes a major plot development piece for the movie. The drawing was used as an element in the one-sheet posters advertising the movie. It was also featured in promotional articles for the movie that appeared in People and Playboy.
“It was in a section I think they called ‘Sex in Cinema,’ probably because it was a nude,” Gretchen reasoned, and I had to laugh. “So you are probably the only person who admits to buying Playboy FOR the pictures and not the articles,” I quipped. Without missing a beat she fired back, laughing, “Yeah, but just for that one picture!”
When she is not creating art for Hollywood, Gretchen spends her time doing a variety of commissioned assignments. She has created murals and other installations for architectural clients, and works with decorators on commission pieces for businesses and other public spaces. Among her works are murals done for the children’s wing of Ochsner Foundation Clinic and the children’s emergency room at West Jefferson Hospital.
Gretchen also works with designers and homeowners on commission pieces, which she says has been a mixed blessing since Katrina. “Everybody is redecorating and it keeps me busy, but what a way to get the business,” she says, in a melancholy tone.
Regardless of the type of work—portrait, murals, landscapes or still life—Gretchen’s choice of media depends largely on the subject matter and the situation. An informal child on the beach, for example, has a laidback feeling to it that is appropriate to pencils and watercolors. Conversely, according to Gretchen, for that same child decked out in his Sunday best, ready for a formal portrait intended for a dining room or other large space in the home, the richness of oil paints lends itself to the grandeur of the work.
Gretchen says, “If it’s a beautiful floral, a lot of times I think that it looks prettier in watercolor. If it’s a landscape, I think landscapes look prettier in oil. What it looks like and what you’re trying to make your subject look like dictate what medium best portrays the subject.”
Extending her commission work into fine-art-type prints has been, you might say, a bit of a marathon. One of her more recent and notable commissions was a series of posters for the Crescent City Classic. The goal of the organizers was to elevate the iconic race poster series from pure graphic design toward a level equal to fine art. Recalling the three-year contract, Gretchen says, “We decided the first poster was to be at the start of the race. The next year was in the middle of the race, and the last year would be of the end of the race.” That was the plan and all went well for the first two posters. Then that little weather event we had in August 2005 altered the plans for the third year.
“I had actually finished the poster for the third year of the contract when Katrina hit. After that I thought maybe there wasn’t going to be a Crescent City Classic that next year. No one knew what was going on and if the city was even going to survive or not. But [the Crescent City Classic committee] pulled it together and called me to do the 2006 poster, but with more of a Katrina theme to it.”
The published poster is a mixture of art and symbolism. It features a runner reaching the finish line, but not crossing, as if to say New Orleans is racing toward recovery but hasn’t finished yet. Several runners are the military and civilian agencies that provided relief in those first several weeks after the storm. Gretchen notes other symbolism in the poster: the number “829” on the streetcar stands for 8/29/2005, the day the hurricane struck.
Symbolism aside, the ability to draw is what Gretchen feels makes or breaks a painting. The drawing is paramount, because “you can teach somebody how to paint and it’s very easy, but if you can teach somebody how to draw you can make a painting out of it.” Gretchen’s feelings on drawing are so strong that she has even taught drawing at the grade school level. “A lot of kids can follow what you are teaching step by step. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are talented, but their drawings do come out wonderful. But there’s always the one kid in the class who follows along and gets it, and the next time they pick up their pencil, they draw something truly phenomenal. That’s true talent.”
Gretchen Armbruster is available for commission work and may be contacted at (985) 624-5604.
