On Sunday, January 20th, we will all have the chance to become much more familiar with The Art and Times of Frosty Myers. The documentary film of the same name, produced by his wife, Debra Myers, will be featured at the Saint Augustine Film Festival, in the same city where the wildly prolific, but oftentimes non-represented artist resides for at least a portion of the year. Frosty was born in Long Beach, California in 1941, and by the time he reached the age of 20, he'd relocated to New York City, which was, at the time, an epicenter of artistic evolution and innovation. American art was challenging some of the long standing European ideals and traditions that had defined it for quite some time, and Frosty was in the midst of it all. Described as an "Artist's Artist" and "way, way beyond his time", Frosty helped to lay the groundwork for contemporary art, and was involved in countless projects during his career. His extensive portfolio includes, but is certainly not limited to, The Wall in SoHo and the Moon Museum to name two of his most notable endeavors (the latter making him among one of the first artists to put art on the Moon). We were honored to have the chance to interview both Frosty and Debra to get to know them better and learn their story before the upcoming Film Festival debut. Please introduce yourselves to our readers! Forrest aka Frosty Myers, sculptor Birthplace: Long Beach California,1941 currently residing in St. Augustine, Fl., winter studio and Damascus, Pa. summer studio Debra Arch Myers, documentary film producer, writer Birthplace: Coral Gables, Fl., 1951 currently residing in St. Augustine, Fl., winter studio and Damascus, Pa. summer studio How did you two meet and did you connect over your respective art forms? Debra: We met at an art opening in NYC in 1975. Frosty was a sculptor having moved to NYC in 1961 and I was a contemporary dancer, moved to NYC in 1974. Frosty and I met through differing art forms. I came to NYC in the mid 1970’s to be a contemporary dancer. It was a very exciting time. Ballet and Modern Contemporary dance were merging - something that philosophically was segregated. Nureyev was working with Martha Graham. Twyla Tharp was choreographing pieces on ballet dancers…minimalist pieces by Lucinda Childs were showcased and Merce Cunningham was working with the artists like Rauschenberg and composers like Cage. Then the AIDS epidemic hit, taking out great talents, like Alvin Ailey and Raymond Johnson. Our Artistic collaboration began with my becoming a landscape designer in the 1990’s. Our ten acre sculpture garden allowed us to work together, siting his large out of door pieces in site specific settings through out our Wild Turkey Sculpture Garden. Frosty, you've been described as way, way ahead of your time during a period when the face of American art was going through a drastic upheaval. What was it like being an avant-garde artist during that time, particularly in New York in the 1960's? How did the energetic landscape differ between the art scene in California and that of New York? Frosty: Although there were some great artists in California, in the late 50’s early 60’s it was a very provincial place. There did not seem to be a center to the art scene as there was in NY. Being a young artist in NYC in the early ’60’s was really exciting. As a young man it was exhilarating and vibrant. The social norms and the artistic community was palpable. You felt you had something to learn and contribute. Extremely progressive by today’s standards. How much do you believe that times of socio-political unrest and cultural turmoil feed and inform the art of its time? Frosty: The world is still working on the social problems whereas the Art has changed (morphed) into something completely different from the problems that we were working on. One of the main differences, as I see it is the interjection of big money into the Art World. It has changed everything. It starts with Warhol believing that business was a part of his art. There are no longer any rules and it seems this new found freedom can be greatly misused. In terms of social and political unrest, in the 1960’s and 70’s the artists in many cases were protesting the injustices of the time; ie., women’s liberation, gay rights, segregation and racial prejudice, and the anti war movement. Just like today... there is a lot to stay vigilant about. The digression in our politics is extremely disheartening to all the gains we thought we had made. Debra, what inspired you to produce The Art and Times of Frosty Myers? Debra: The decision to document this process, lead me to want to document its growth. Working with the director, Tim Lalumia and Chris Stearns on what was to be a documentary short, we soon realized the subject was much larger and covered a half century of an artist’s life through creation, culture, politics music, design. The story grew out of its own need - a document to be told. Frosty, let's talk about the Moon Museum: what inspired you to come up with the idea for the project and how did you keep motivated after NASA dodged you for so long? How did you choose the other five artists involved (John Chamberlain, David Novros, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol)? Did you invite any other artists to participate that turned you down? How did it feel once it was all said and done to know that you put art on the moon? Frosty: The Moon Museum was inspired by putting a man on the moon. This was the single most exciting event of my generation. It was evolution that you could see. And inspiring to all of my artist friends. The 5 artists that are on the chip were all personal friends of mine. And all readily accepted to be part of the idea, that was sponsored by EAT - Experiments in Art and Technology. The actual chip was produced by engineers at Bell Laboratory in New Jersey. It was terribly exciting once this project had come to fruition and Apollo 12 had landed. The engineer that placed the Moon Museum aboard the Lunar Lander, sent me a telegram saying that all systems were go. Then once it had landed we could celebrate. Frosty: Your other most recognized piece of art is The Wall in SoHo, New York. What was the inspiration for this piece? What does it represent to you? The Wall is an 8 story minimal relief artwork on the corner of Broadway and Houston Streets in NYC. This art work was installed as part of City Walls in 1972 at the entrance to the art world at that time, hence it became known as the Gateway to Soho. The background is blue and has 42 projections, or girders in rows that project out 5 feet from the wall over the sidewalk, often creating shadows along the surface, that act like gnomens. The world is very different for art and artists today. How do you feel the environment has changed for the better? For the worse? Money has become so destructive to artists. What advice would you give to artists today that, like you, don't quite fit into the box or follow the status quo? I would suggest you get a regular job to support yourself so you can keep your art ideas pure and apart from that distraction which can be very destructive. You have to have confidence in yourself. How do you define success in what you do? Art expresses man and woman at their best. Aside from being great fun, it is one of the most exciting things a person can do. With the new media platforms - there is no reason to be obscure. THANK YOU
We'd like to thank Frosty and Debra for their participation in this interview. We'd also like to thank you for reading. The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville serves six primary roles in Northeast Florida.
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