“Scoutmaster” oil on wood
“Under the Hat” oil on canvas
“Stealing Time” oil on canvas
There is something strange and dark lurking in the provocatively beautiful paintings of Kenney Mencher; its the same feeling you get when you think you see someones shadow pass a window or the way your heart convulses during an old noir film. Mencher’s paintings can have that same emotional stir as an Edward Hopper or Norman Rockwell – an entire living breathing world exists beyond the context of the canvas; a third dimension that is alive in a seemingly eternal daydream. Exclusive Pas Un Autre interview with Kenny Mencher after the jump….
Pas Un Autre: How long have you been painting in this style – could you describe the style?
Kenny Mencher: I guess you could call my style initially “realist” but also “pulp fiction” style. On my website I’ve been trying to push the name as “Neonoir/Pulp Style Art.”
PUA: There seems to be an emotional third dimension to the subjects in your art. Do you use real models or photographs?
KM: I work mainly from photographs that I view on my computer while I paint. That way I can manipulate the photographs and change the color and value structure so that I can see actually more details than if the model was “live.” I work from photographic material I’ve taken as well as film stills and vintage photographs.
PUA: I see a lot of old film references in your art to, or what looks like inspiration from, old Noir films. What inspires your work?
KM: I’m inspired by literature (all kinds) film and television. I’m not very discriminating and I tend to be very egalitarian in my choices. I’m most inspired by older film noir and vintage vernacular imagery based on old photographs, such as portraits made from old photobooth images to “pinup“ style females.
I’m also an art historian so to name a few of the historical figures I look at for inspiration are Velasquez, Rembrandt, Edward Hopper, N.C. Wyeth and more recently Malcolm Liepke and Od Nerdrum. (I’m still crazy for the story telling that N.C. Wyeth was able to accomplish.) Pop art as well as the Ashcan school of art are strong influences on me.
PUA: The painting “Stealing Time” really strikes me. I wanted to ask you, firstly, what is was going on in that painting – is it as literal as two men stealing a watch from a purse?
KM: I like to play with clichés and sayings. They are the visual equivalent of iconic images. I also want people to figure out what the paintings mean to them, so in essence, I come up with a suggestive theme and title and hope that people can use the painting as a point of departure for discussion. “Stealing Time” suggests a visual and oral cliché that I hope is a kind of “Thematic Apperception Test” in which the viewer reinvents the painting for themselves. So, what do you think is going on in “Stealing Time?”
PUA: Is there a significance to the time on the watch?
KM: I don’t know. Is there for you? I do think Edward Hopper would think the time is significant since many of his titles deal with specifying a time of day.
PUA: How important is time in art and vice-versa?
KM: I’m not sure if I get the question, but, I think that an artist’s place in time really influences what he or she creates. I also think that it influences what sells and the artist’s popularity. The amount of time it takes to make a work of art seems really important to patrons and viewers, however, I think what is more significant is the time it took for me to learn how to paint the way I do and also to mature enough to have really compelling ideas in my art.
Visit www-kenney-mecher.com to see more
