The alien invasion has begun! Local artist adds some far-out creatures to collectible paint-by-number pictures
Shortly after Al Harp moved from New York City to New Mexico, he made a $3 purchase at a small-town thrift store that would change the course of his artistic life.
Harp moved to the Southwest in 1999 for a less frantic lifestyle than he'd had as a Hollywood textile colorist and costume painter for glitzy Broadway shows.
It was in a thrift store in Truth or Consequences, N.M., that he discovered a paint-by-numbers landscape picture. As he looked at it, Harp felt something was missing.
It's probably important here to note Harp, 55, grew up reading Erich von Daniken's "Chariots of the Gods?" and — as a child of the Space Age — obsessed by all things interstellar. He'll also tell you about a 1997 incident in the Mexico sky that can't completely be explained.
“When I got the picture home, I kept looking at it, and suddenly I realized that what was needed to make it more interesting was a space alien or two," said Harp, who now lives in the Valley and has a studio in Scottsdale. The picture was seen by a friend who was visiting him from New York; she encouraged him to create additional pieces.
“She was so enthusiastic by what I had done, she provided me with several paint-by-number pictures she had purchased from thrift shops and on eBay, and soon I was involved with more paint-by-number ‘invasions,’” he said. "I love paint-by-number art, because it allows everyone (with a steady hand) to recreate great historic masterpieces, including 'The Last Supper,' 'The Gleaners,' etc. And I love to 'invade' them, because I aspire to help keep people's minds open to all possibilities in the universe."
Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1960, Harp worked on Broadway productions including “Miss Saigon,” “Cats,” and “Les Miserables,” and film projects for “Planet of the Apes,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and “All the Pretty Horses.” He's also helped create costumes for The Rolling Stones, Grace Jones, and the Talking Heads.
After completing about a dozen “invasion” pictures, he was contacted by Moshe Koenick, owner of M Gallery in Truth or Consequences, who arranged an exhibit of Harp’s work. The exhibit opened in May 2008 and was noted by the New York Times.
Harp is convinced that the paintings, which originated in the 1950s and '60s, represent an era when many Americans were intrigued by flying saucers and the possibility of outer-space visitors. These painting are, he points out, perfect showcases for his aliens.
According to Harp, boomers buying Midcentury Modern houses are especially attracted to his art, in addition to older people who remember the pictures when they were first introduced more than a half century ago. Vintage paint-by-number pictures have gotten increasingly collectible, and adding pop-culture elements to the designs is a popular practice.
“The pictures fit almost any décor, but especially compliment the interiors of houses built during the same midcentury era,” Harp said. Some galleries and collectors have taken notice. Three of his paintings are currently being exhibited in a juried show at the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts, 101 N. Broad St., in Globe.
Harp’s art isn’t limited to his paintings, however.
One afternoon shortly after the exhibit in New Mexico, Harp was walking his dog in the desert when he discovered some river rocks scattered along the trail. As he looked at the contours and patterns of the rocks, he saw what appeared to him to be the gray heads of aliens similar to ones he had seen illustrated in reference books. He gathered about a dozen of the stones and soon began creating “Space Rocks.”
Harp, who studied at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Fine Arts, has been intrigued by black light and fluorescent paints for several decades. One of his black-light assemblages was purchased by MTV for its corporate art collection. He also produced black-lighted ad campaigns for Mercury Records, IBM and Panasonic.
“I still utilize fluorescent paints, especially in some of my Space Rocks, because of its pure, brilliant intensity,” Harp said.
Harp sells his Space Rocks on Etsy.com.
“No two rocks of mine are alike,” Harp said, explaining he's written short biographies of each, giving his Space Rocks distinct personalities.
Harp believes that this is the right time for his art.
“We live during a time when people are finding new uses for old things,” he said. “Look at all the old buildings and houses in Phoenix that are being restored and items in shops and at antique malls that are repurposed and re-imagined,” he said. “With my paintings and Space Rocks, I am seeing and using each in an exciting new way,” added Harp.
He paused as he looked at a painting he had just finished, a classic rendition of “The Gleaners,” complete, of course, with several aliens.
“The purpose of art is to change the way we see and experience certain things, and I think my artwork does exactly that," Harp said.
Al Harp Studio
P.O. Box 34, Scottsdale, AZ 85252
480-589-3460
al_harp@yahoo.com or alharpaz@aol.com
Larry Cox is a former antiques dealer and longtime antiques and collectibles columnist. To ask about items, send a letter to P.O. Box 88017, Phoenix, AZ 85080, or e-mail AskLarryCox2015@aol.com.