Tar Mussel Art Assemblage and Reality

Walking on the beach in front of my studio the other

morning I came across mussels in a tide pool. I took

a photo to compare and show the difference between

the art piece shown here and the photo of the

mussels in the tidepool. This comparison should

explain what the difference is between art and reality.

Tar Toy People Assemblage

We’ve covered ourselves with the need for oil.

I bath in it. I stink of oil. Oil shows through my

white gloves. I sail in a glass bottom boat on a

sea of oil. I prefer to not look down. If you don’t

use oil or your allotment of oil you’re an idiot.

That’s the economy. That’s the law.

Tar Pit Toys Assemblage - Artist John Robertson

Tar Pit Car Assemblage Art

Tar Pit Car Assemblage is another in the series of

tar assemblages I’ve been working on for the past

four or five months. I haven’t given up painting –

I’ve been doing some large scale commission work

while also working on these pieces. They are more

sports paintings – specifically for a National Hockey

Team which the agent just picked up. I’ll post

photos of them in a few days.

Of arms, legs and man I sing - assemblage

Of arms and man I sing or I sing of arms and man or

of arms and the man I sing referencing Virgil, Shaw

or the experimental rock group depending on your

literary/ musical background. War is the main issue

and here in this assemblage we see the torn arms and

legs of toy soldiers and an occasional cowboy

drenched in tar. I originally did this piece without the

tar but somehow it called to me (kinda like the muse

of Virgil) to slop the tar over the piece. That’s an

obvious reference and I am told to quit commenting

on my pieces of art. Art should for the observer to

make the connections. But what usually happens is

the viewer makes some disparaging remark on some

intention of which I had no intention to arouse.

Basically they don’t get it. I’m just trying to help it along.

Tar Mussels Assemblage

I remember the Santa Barbara oil spill back in
January 29, 1969 where a Union Oil Co. platform
six miles off the coast had a blowout. Although
they capped the hole the expanding pressure
ruptured the ocean floor in five places and for
eleven days oil and gas released into the ocean.
200,000 gallons of crude oil bubbled to the surface
and was spread into an 800 square mile slick by
winds and swells. Our beach in front had chunks
of tar that covered a variety of sea life. I remember
seeing the mussels on some of the rocks getting
covered in the gooey mess. This tar assemblage
is a reminder of that time.

Girl’s Night Out Last Supper Assemblage

Girls! Ladies Day! Bar Drinks. Last Supper.

Assemblage by John Robertson.

I assume this is appropriate or I should probably say

- inappropriate to this time of year. I have no idea

why I put these two objects together. I don’t think

my pastor would approve of this piece – and somehow

I don’t either but I still assembled them together.

Assemblage of car toys in Tar

The cars embedded in tar is a gesture in despair -

despair at the loss of the auto and despair at the

environmental cost for the operation of the auto.

Assemblage Art by John Robertson

Jesus in a Pick-up Truck

Jesus in a Pick-up Truck Assemblage

Outsider art by John Robertson

I was watching the news about Sen Barack Obama's

speech yesterday and they showed sermons from the

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's longtime pastor. It

made me think that there is nobody more sincere

than a preacher given a sermon. I don’t mean this

in any way directed towards Obama – as I like him

very much and think him to be very sincere and

honest – but it also reminded me that there is nobody

more sincere than a politician telling a lie.

Car tar Pit Assemblage

Car tar Pit Assemblage political art by John Robertson.

This reminds me of my old days as a teenager when I
worked in my dad's gas station. We'd collect the
old oil from the oil changes and then dump the oil
into big drums. The house we lived in that was on
a hill at one time had a dirt street in front. There
was a guy who used to take old reclaimed oil from
the gas stations and pour it at the top of the hill
and let it run down to cover the dirt street.
Worked well for dust abatement but was not a
politically correct environmental way to get rid
of the oil. This was the late forties. Did anyone
even think about those things in those day?

Tar Assemblage Baby Doll

Tar Assemblage Baby Doll by artist John Robertson

Tar babies assemblage

assemblage with the use of tar on dolls

by John Robertson

Tar Assemblage Art - Beach Junk

My studio is right across the street from the beach.

Most days I take a run in the late morning and

sometimes stop to collect stuff from the beach for

assemblages. I try and take the stuff from the same

small section of the beach (about 50 yards). It is

interesting to see what floats or gets washed up

each day. I don’t collect every day but I do observe

the same stretch of sand. So this Tar Assemblage

art is a small sampling of junk washed up a couple

of days ago. After awhile one sees the same sort

of stuff reoccurring – lighters, bottle caps, plastic

cups – bottles – broken foam cups, etc. A real

mess on any given day and a real testimony to the

care so many give to the beach environment

Tar Assemblage Art Ladybug

Tar Assemblage Art Ladybug and friends

Forest Tar Pit Assemblage from Ocean

Tar pit assemblage art by John Robertson . This social

political piece about the ocean and the environment

(including the use of oil as a resource) points out that

there is one thing I am sure of, it is that we are

screwing up the earth. And it’s as if some people find

it amusing that we are destroying it and ourselves

along with it. And if you don’t believe that then you

are overestimating your intelligence.

Tar Pits Crab

As some of you know my studio is just across

the street from the beach. I pick up stuff in the

mornings and sometimes turn it into a piece.

There were a lot of shells, some with tar on them.

Assemblage art by John Robertson is 7 1/2" x 9"

Oil might have been a good for us at one time but

we’ve been using too much of it for too long. For

those that don’t get the fact that global warming

is a problem – I just don’t understand what is on

their mind – which, I guess is an overstatement

Indifference to Humanity assemblage by John Robertson

Tough immigration laws are made by those who are
having a better time. Roosevelt said that we are
all descended from immigrants. I know that for
me I’m lucky that there were no immigration laws
when my family came to this country. Of course
they immigrated from the Garden of Eden. –
Immigration assemblage by John Robertson

Children's Toys Assemblage

Children’s Toy Assemblage by John Robertson
In collecting toys for my assemblage I seem to find

two type of small children’s toys – those that are new

or those that are broken. It is as if the first thing a

child does is try to figure out how to break the toy.

Some take a few hours to break and others takes

a couple of days. The last group I got had all the

heads ripped off of them. I have no idea where

the heads are – or what the child must have done

with them. But that group of toys had a miniature

guillotine included.

Guns and Knives (after Louise)

Guns and knives black assemblage by

John Robertson. Wood, plastic, metal,

paint. What is interesting about this

assemblage is the relationship between

the guns, knives and swords which

does not give a sense of the size of the piece.

Gun ownership is a big political issue

– the need for protection. If you want real

protection you should understand that gun

ownership may not afford the best protection

for a homeowner. As I recall in the book

" Freakonomics" by Stephen D. Levitt and

Stephen J. Dunbar they stated that gun deaths are

low relative to swimming pools deaths.

With that in mind it seems that instead of

buying an AK47 for protection homeowners

should be digging moats.

Aminal Tar Pits Assemblage (after Louise)

Tar Pits 7 1/2" x 9" mixed media black
assemblage by artist John Robertson

- wood, tar, plastic, metal, paint.
As a child quite regularly I visited the
La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. I loved
going there and still do. I think seeing the
bones embedded in the tar (as a child) is a
strong influence on this current work. I do
have to say that Louise Nevelson's work
also has a strong influence. It's probably why
I like her work so much.

Baby Jesus and Mary Assemblage (after Louise)

Baby Jesus and Mary assemblage by John Robertson

is 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" plastic, ceramic, wood, metal and

paint. As a card carrying church member I have

always been interested in religious symbols. I

constantly refer back to those images and use

them a lot in my work. I think it comes from

being raised in a strong religious family. Ministers

(in the past) have not always understood or

appreciated my work. As I have said about my

work - it is not about communicating a particular

point a view but trying to understand or come to

terms with what subject I'm investigating.

Here in this work its about the religious objects

and the use of the black paint.