''The Natural'' Celebrates The Ugly & Grotesque

Cal Schenkel is a designer and artist  who first came to attention as the creator of Frank Zappa’s  record album covers in the late 1960′s. He is referred to as Frank Zappa’s art engineer and was given responsibility to develop the external vision of the Zappa universe. The album covers were almost as important as the music.

Grand Wazoo 1972

 

 

 Schenkel has maintained he was an artistic mercenary  charged with satisfying various concepts which were projections of Frank Zappa’s identity. The visual constellation centered around Zappa could not have existed without the highly articulate and narrative work of Schenkel who in a sense helped define Zappa’s identity , accentuating the larger than legend dimensions of the image. 

Captain Beefheart 1969

 

 

Schenkel’s artwork fascinates by its mass of contradictions. The linework is delicate and with purpose but the application is uneven,  anti-curvilinear and expressively showcases a grotesque and exagerrated sense of humour. Its compelling work that is anti-corporate  and unconventional, yet avoids falling into the derivative  idioms of underground art such as applying stereotypes common to this genre of comic  and animated art.

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Over-Nite Sensation 1973

The result is original and compelling. There are odd juxtapositions and an interconnectedness bordering on the absurd.It is sometimes naive, dense,organic and sophisticated. Its pop art that neglects consumption and accumulation themes which are fended off with inflections of neo-dadaism .Its art thats not branded. Somehow it sticks together and works providing a comprehensive visual experience.

Schenkel completed only one semester at art school so there is a natural  unschooled hand leaving an unfinished, rough and slightly ragged feel in some of the early work. The jagged or ”ratty” form he developed would soon become refined and intentional and further carburated by a creative determination.

One Size Fits All 1975

The influence of American folk art and Naive  art complement the comic animation elements. The sum is always greater than the parts. Schenkel possesses an almost innate sense of Gestalt theory  which he uses to determine the way objects are perceived. Its the same approach exploited by advertising agencies in their ”montage” of elements but Schenkel employs the idea in a non-manipulative, honest yet artistically persuasive manner. Schenkel is also an excellent collage artist.

Cheap Thrills Cover Painting