Tidewater artist James Frankfort
left the crowds and high rises of New York City for seclusion
in the Siskyous in 1968.
He said he "dropped out"
of society when he left the East Coast and "dropped back
into society slowly," after living in communes for several
years. Frankfort has lived in Tidewater for the past 10-12 years,
and his recent art work is now on display at the Seal Rock Art
Gallery, an artists' cooperative of which he is a member.
Frankfort has painted for most of his
life, and exhibited his work in New York in the 1950s. His illustrations
and cartoons were published in the Saturday Evening Post, The
Nation, Harpers Magazine and The Village Voice, where he worked
as editorial cartoonist for 15 years.
Reticent about his work, Frankfort
described himself as a "cosmic cartoonist" for The
Village Voice. "My cartoons dealt with mind expansion, becoming
aware of self, things like that," he said.
Frankfort recently completed the building
of his Tidewater studio, and his current exhibit offers a glimpse
of drawings and constructions completed in 1985. "I'm serious
about
my work," he said. "I'm working
for the world, not just for myself. Nobody really has to see
my paintings, just as long as they're being made.
"It's what I have to do. I consider
myself non-commercial," he continued. "My art is purely
in the old style spiritual, like most artists in the past. I'm
not a craftsman I'm purely a conceptual artist."
Frankfort, a native of Belgium, noted
that "the reason I'm here is because I don't want to live
anywhere else. I always wanted to live in the woods. I enjoyed
the city, but it's too distracting for me."
Frankfort continues to maintain contact
with New York and Europe and travels frequently. He has two children
in college and two who attend school in Waldport, and they accompany
him on his travels.
Frankfort is a man of few words and
is content to let his art speak for itself. "I'm just a
guy who's trying to do his work," he concluded.
TIDEWATER
ARTIST JAMES FRANKFORT calls pieces like this one 'constructions'.
While many are of wood, Frankfort said 'found objects' are often
used in his work.