Look Who it Was Random video

BRADFORD J SALAMON : OBJECTIFIED

2,495 views · Published 26 December 2013 · 7:53 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: ERIC MINH SWENSON ART FILMS · 2013 · Education

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A Film by Eric Minh Swenson. 

Bradford J. Salamon is widely regarded for his portraits of artists, writers and musicians who he invites into his studio to sit in his iconic orange chair, often for hours, as he observes and documents the intricacy of their humanity. His approach allows the artistic process to unfold as an unpredictable journey into the subject's personality, where the painting unlocks a visual narrative unique to the time of the sitters's life. The person becomes part of the art making process: as they bring to the chair their life stories of professional achievements and personal hardships their bodies begin to sink into the chair, and over time their faces collapse into fatigue. The pain of sitting for hours unoccupied by a task other than being there for the artist becomes apparent. For Salamon, this process captures the entire evolving narrative of the person and activates the canvas with the human condition. His process counteracts the tendency to objectify the model, as many portrait artists have done throughout history in art while also representing an abstraction of his model in concrete form.  

Salamon sees portraiture as an opening into life experiences he may never otherwise observe and notes that the process of painting people for extended periods of time provides a way of communicating and interacting with them on an entirely different level. He brings this humanizing approach to painting objects as well; objects such as rotary dial phones, vintage machinery and toys. These portraits serve as a reminder of the power of invention and the purpose and aesthetic considerations that initially guided the object's design.  He notes: "I will paint people forever, as they are always important to me. But my fascination with inanimate objects and the stories they tell bring me back to a different time when it makes me move into the mindset of a designer or inventor who thought with 1920 references. Old glass bottles, iconography, out-of-date sewing machines, their shapes and how they work stimulate me to see the world with fresh perceptions."  Exploring the poetics of these old objects in paint is a welcome challenge for the artist. Representing multiple surfaces as they interface with one another is no simple task for a painter: glass against metal, time-worn wood overlaid with fading chrome and fabric or mesh with plastics all have their own character and qualities. The artist is at no loss for objects from which to choose, especially due to the speed at which objects become obsolete, a phenomenon that intrigues the artist and keeps him inspired to paint on a daily basis.

Bradford J. Salamon has recreated an abbreviated version of his private studio at MOAH with the orange chair at the center of the installation. His studio—itself a series of objects from the artist's life—is situated here as a place in which you may interact with him and become familiar with his process; a process that is unfolding in real time, as an unpredictable journey into the artist's mind and method. While Mr. Salamon is not painting in the Museum, he consistently works in Los Angeles painting commissions and projects that have been shown and collected internationally. 

Andi Campognone, Curator

Museum of Art & History

For more info on Eric Minh Swenson or project inquiries visit his website: www.thuvanarts.com
ART FILM SERIES: www.thuvanarts.com/take1

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