We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laurence GARTEL a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Laurence , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Great Question! – Resilience comes from determination; the desire to conquer. In the case of the Artist to be recognized and have a winning track record. On my parents coffee table at a very early age were the publications of Toulouse Lautrec, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh and Picasso. I wanted to be just like them: recognized and in museum collections. I realized that this was going to be a lifelong commitment. I prepared myself for the greatest endurance test. One has to stay with it. In my case, I invented my own visual language by using tools of technology to make a new aesthetic. Digital Art did not exist before I developed this new Art form.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
LAURENCE GARTEL, is known to the world as the “FATHER” of Digital Art for over 40-years. His career started working side by side with video guru Nam June Paik at Media Study/Buffalo in upstate New York. He taught Andy Warhol how to use the Amiga Computer in order to produce the album cover for Debbie Harry (Blondie). Growing up in New York City during the Punk Rock era he was friends with Stiv Bators, Sid Vicious, Joey Ramone, Wendy O. Williams, and exhibited his work with Robert Mapplethorpe. Creating Digital Art before the birth of the personal computer his work has been exhibited with the Museum of Modern Art, Long Beach Museum of Art, Princeton Art Museum, Guild Hall, Selby Gallery at Ringling School of Art, Norton Museum of Art, Coral Springs Museum of Art as well as included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History, Bibliothque Nationale Paris and Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London. Gartel received FotoMentor Lifetime Achievement Award from Palm Beach Photographic in 2009.
Gartel has traveled the world exhibiting and projecting his work in Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy, as well as going to India, creating a Bollywood Music/Video for Universal Entertainment. He has been commissioned to produce artwork on Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as for corporations such as Coca Cola, Philip Morris, Walt Disney, Polaroid, Canon USA, Minolta, Olympus, Kodak, National Basketball Association, Gibson Guitars, Bang & Olufsen, Mobil Oil, Commerzbank, SWATCH, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sprint, Budweiser, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and known for the first Digital Advertisement: ABSOLUT GARTEL for Absolut Vodka.
The year 2015 could have been its own book. Gartel was the Official Artist of the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, Los Angeles. He “wrapped” the large-scale, one of a kind Grammy Statue with his Digital Art printed to vinyl right here in South Florida. He was the Artist of the NASA MMS Mission, at Kennedy Space Center, as well as being the Artist of the Newport Jazz Festival wrapping a one of a kind Trumpet to honor the career of Miles Davis. Gartel unveiled the First National State Art Car at the Capital building in Concord with Governor Maggie Hassan, reading letters of Commendation from the House of Representatives, Senate, and Congress. Gartel participated in the Los Angeles Street Art Fair creating a commissioned Dodge Viper Art Car and was the Visionary of the 3D Print Conference in Santa Clara. Gartel showcased his 1978 groundbreaking “Self Portrait” film at the 7th Annual Cairo International Video Festival. He finished the year creating the Official Artwork for the Monaco International Film Festival.
A part of his concentration was focused on Art Cars. The first commission being the TESLA Electric Art Roadster during Art Basel Miami Beach in 2010. He was the “FEATURE” of the 113th New York International Auto Show with his own 30,000 square foot Pavilion in 2013. Mercedes Benz commissioned Gartel to create a very special Art Car to celebrate their “13th Million Friend on Facebook. Gartel unveiled a $250,000 Renntech Mercedes SL65 V-12 Art Car at Fisher Island Club during Art Basel Miami, December 2014, an Award Winner “Best of Class” at Amelia Island 2015. His “Care-Connect” VW Amarok represents the First Solar Satellite Art Truck. Gartel branded the Oslo Motor Show and produced a BMW Mini LIVE for the Norwegian public in October, 2016. Gartel unveiled an Alfa Romeo “Giulia” Art Car to America in March 2017. His current museum show: “WARHOL vs GARTEL HYP POP” was shown at Palazzo Bufalini, Spoleto, Lucca Center of Contemporary Art and Art & Co, Lecce, MomArt in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, as well as book signings with Galerie Zum Harnisch during Art Basel Switzerland. Gartel’s Art graced the Front Cover of Boca Magazine, January 2018, and Pompano Magazine February 2018 issues respectively. Gartel produced a Maserati Car Art which opened and closed racing season in Saratoga Springs, NY commissioned by the #DePaulaDriveForCharity. GARTEL’s recent exhibition “Digital Titan” was held at the Palm Beach Photographic Museum, West Palm Beach. Gartel’s permanent Miami installation is located at the Overtown Courthouse Lobby along with his “Welcome to Miami” installation at Richard Branson’s Virgin Miami Central Rail station. His latest commission “Legends of Rock and Roll” is on permanent display at the new Seminole Hard Rock Guitar Hotel. During covid times Mr. Gartel created the Art Cubes called Shashibo (better than a Rubiks cube) which is distributed nationally: Barnes & Nobles, Walmart and 3500 independent toy stores He is currently working on the definitive Encyclopedia of his work: “GARTEL: 50 Years of Digital Art. Volumes 1, II and III, scheduled to be released early 2025
Visit the Artist’s website: www.gartelmuseum.weebly.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
It is surely a different world than when I started. There was no social media. Promotion was done through mail campaigns. Today the instantaneousness of reaching people is a much more efficient way of getting one’s talents known. People have less attention span due to the inundation of messages. A pitch has to be written in a short and effective manner. The first question to ask one’s self: What is your goal? What makes you happy? What satisfies your hunger? The most important element is to enjoy what you do. Get the most out of where your craft takes you. If it’s just money, then get the best job you can that can bring you wealth and enjoy purchasing the things objects and experiences you love to do. For me, it was always the “passion of creation.” That equals enjoying what you do.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
As an only child, my parents thought I could not do anything wrong. They praised me for everything. They put me on a pedestal. I was always told how much I was loved. I passed that on to my children and grand children. I never got criticized nor told I was doing anything wrong. It was all positive. Unfortunately life is not a bed of roses, and my parents got sick at a young age, consequently losing them early on. They missed a great deal of my successes, my children growing up etc. Perhaps that too gave me fortitude and stamina. I have been on my own for a long time and without siblings. I had to make my own decisions to which I never regretted anything. You cannot go back, you can only move forward. I would say LOVE is always the right answer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gartelmuseum.weebly.com
- Instagram: laurencegartel
- Facebook: Laurence Gartel
- Twitter: Laurence Gartel
- Youtube: Laurence Gartel
Image Credits
All Photos are copyright GARTEL
