Joram Roukes Solo Show American Ornithology At Thinkspace Gallery

                 Joram Roukes had a  solo show, American Ornithology at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City's Arts District. Joram Roukes, I love you, thank you for existing. I was very surprised to find out this show did not sell well. The art dealers at Thinkspace were saying his work is too large and it's a simple matter of wall space, the collectors don't have the wall space for his pieces. But in all honestly, it makes me have even more respect for him, it shows a lot of artistic integrity that he won't compromise his artistic vision to sell better. In one of his articles he says he would like to create a full scale remake of Gericault's The Raft Of Medusa. I would love to see that piece. It has the same energy as a lot of his work.

          Ornithology is the study of birds, apparently when Joram was young in his native Dutchland Netherlands he would watch birds for hours on end while camping with his Holland Dutch family. He would later draw the birds, it was also around the same time he started to draw a lot. His show American Ornithology is about reflecting back on his years living in Los Angeles. The name also references how much nature and elements of animals influences his work.  

         He states in his interview with Hi-Fructose “The series in a way is a result of watching my current environment through an ornithologists view.” I have a few close friends that are European and Indian, and what he's talking about is very familiar to me. Any friends I have from different countries have always generalized Americans, especially youth, as either violent, spoiled or self-centered. I really am not offended by those stereotypes. I'm not sure what Roukes opinions of Americans are, but it fuels amazing art. 

         I think it's interesting that he says his work is a reflection of his time in America and in the same article he talks about remaking Gericault's  The Raft Of Medusa, which was about a controversial ship wreak where over a hundred people died. The captain was incompetent and got the job because he was incredibly privileged. It was a huge scandal in it's day, the survivors were a drift for 13 days and had to resort to cannibalism. I like how Gericault researched the incident so thoroughly, interviewing 2 survivors and even visiting morgues to see what the color of dead flesh looks like. 

Gericault's  The Raft Of Medusa, 1818-1819

Gericault's  The Raft Of Medusa, at The Louvre in Paris