Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Barrish
Jerry Ross Barrish, a fourth-generation San Franciscan, pursued studies in sculpture and film at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1970 to 1976. Upon earning his BFA and MFA, Barrish went on to produce three full-length narrative films. In 1988, he shifted his focus back to sculpture, specializing in creating figurative assemblages using plastic found materials, a passion he continues to pursue and create. Select notable works have been reborn into bronze sculptures. He is represented in many permanent collections including The Oakland Museum of California, Berkeley Art Museum, Crocker Museum and San Jose Art Museum.
In his words:
I’m not one of these artists who had mentors or that did work as a child or anything like that. I didn’t do any art growing up at all. I started out as a collector.
As a collector, I saw a lot of really bad art. I decided to call one of the artists whose work I had purchased and asked if I could work in their studio and learn how to “do stuff with tools” and try my hand at sculpting. I started in metal. We used all kinds of different metals that we could find, scrap metal more than bronze.
Then I got a letter from the government saying that if I didn’t use my GI Bill within, I think it was five years, I would lose it. That motivated me to apply to the San Francisco Art Institute in sculpture. I was accepted to SFAI and it changed my life.
My first day of class I decided I would try to learn something I knew nothing about and I changed my major to filmmaking. I didn’t know anything about filmmaking. If it wasn’t for that school, I would have never been a filmmaker.
At the time I was at the school, everyone was into abstract and avant-garde films. I was a storyteller and I wanted to make films that had a narrative. That was out of whack with the school and it didn’t matter to me. I had my own path and I decided to make a few documentaries to learn how to make a
movie.
After I graduated, I made three narrative feature films, which I wrote and directed and edited. And in the first film I even did the cinematography. That was my journey. I didn’t know I was going to go back to sculpting. I thought that filmmaking was going to be my artistic outlet.
After three feature films, and without getting any real support in the film community, not getting a producer and money to make other films, I was in my fifties and realized that my career in filmmaking was not going to happen, unless I kept financing my own films. At that time, I happened to live on a dirty beach. I cleaned up some of the plastic in front of my house and created a Christmas tree, and that opened up a whole new door visually for me. And then I found myself going back to sculpting, and, at the same time, keeping my true self as a narrative artist, telling stories with my work.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The answer to the question, has it been a smooth road? No.
The biggest struggle I have is dyslexia. I struggle with computers. I have a lot of problems with understanding directions. I still struggle with dyslexia every day.
I never had a mentor. I always had to just figure it out out of my own.
And when I look back over my life, it scares me a little bit. Everything I have achieved and created, despite the adversity and challenges.
I can’t understand how I got from A to B. And I did it. And it’s beautiful.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When someone asks me what kind of art I do, I always say the same thing: I’m a narrative artist. I’m a storyteller, I was a storyteller with my films, I’m a storyteller with my sculptures.
In my creative process, I want to tell a story, and I want my art to have gesture and movement.
When I see sculpture by some of the masters, like Rodin, what I see in their sculptures is a pose. They work off a model, standing absolutely still.
They did not have the ability to see freeze frame or stop action photos. I think, as a filmmaker and editor, I am “cutting” on movement and capturing body language.
I started working with found objects and plastics as I was trying to clean the beach in front of my house. I saw images in the plastic, and I started to put them together in smaller collages. I started to get the feeling that this material could really tell a story. I never worried about the materials, I only worried about the story.
I am most proud when collectors tell me that they see my work every day and they never get tired of it.
What sets me apart from other assemblage artists is that their work is usually about the materials. My work is not about the materials. My work is about the story.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’ve made a lot of money by taking risks. I’ve made a lot of really smart investments by taking risks. And I’ve lost a lot and made a few terrible decisions.
For me, it’s all about letting go after making the decision to take the risk. When you make the call “I’m going to take this risk”, you’re also saying “I’m prepared to deal with any fear or anxiety that comes up.” You can be at peace, and not let it overcome you, or eat you alive, or whatever.
I think risk taking and all the feelings that come up, is really something that you have accept. Know that it’s part of the deal: you’re not going to win all the time. Be OK with that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jerrybarrish.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerryrossbarrish
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerryrossbarrish
Image Credits
Photos by Wilfred J. Jones, Mel Schockner, Andy Nelson
