100PaintingsofMickeyMousebyaColor-BlindPopArtistbyDaveBossert

(TheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeriesbyDavidA.BossertreleasesonOctober31,20117,fromDisneyEditions.©Disney)

Ilovestoriesthatshowcasetriumphoveradversity.Thosesometimes-devastating

setbacksthatturnintomassivesuccesseslikewhenWaltDisneylostthecontractto

OswaldtheLuckyRabbitandbouncedbackbycreatingMickeyMouse.But,howabout

thoseindividualswhoarepresentedwithphysicalchallengesthatarebeyondtheir

controlyettheydefytheoddsovercomingthosehandicapsandachievingsuccess.

ChicagobasedpopartistTennesseeLovelessisjustsuchanindividual.Hewas

diagnosedwithlimitedachromatopsia,whichisthestateofbeingalmostcompletely

color-blind.Individualswithcompleteachromatopsiacannotseeanycolorsotherthan

black,white,andshadesofgray.Butincompleteorlimitedachromatopsiaisamilder

formoftheconditionthatallowsforsomedelineationofcolor.Thatmeanstheperson

maybeabletodistinguishthewarmcolorspectrumfromthecoolercolorspectrum.For

Loveless,hecanseeyellow.

Beingabletoseeyellowistypicalofthosewithblueconemonochromacy,a

versionoflimitedachromatopsia.Mostpeoplebornwithnormaleyeshaverods—which

seeblack,white,andshadesofgray—andcones—whichcanseered,green,andblue.In

blueconemonochromacy,theindividualsjusthavefunctioningrodsandbluecones,

whichaccountforonly2percentofalltheconesintheretinaportionoftheeye.

Essentially,98percentofTennessee’sconesarenotfunctioningatall.However,thefact

thathehasfunctioningblueconesdoesnotmeanthatheseesthecolorbluelikeyouor

Iwouldseeit;heseesitdifferently.

Thecolor-blindnesscoupledwithlearningdisabilitiesmadeitdifficultforLoveless

toconcentrateinschoolandheconsequentlystartedtodoodleanddrawpictures.He

foundthatvisuallydrawingoutconceptshelpedhimunderstandthematerial.So,he

drew,anddrew,anddrew,whichhelpedhimdevelopavisuallanguagethatmanifested

itselfinhisart.AllofthoseearlyschoolexperienceshelpedshapeTennesseeasan

artist.

Thedrawinghedidthroughouthighschoolledhimtopursueadvancedstudiesin

art,andhewentontoattendtheSavannahCollegeofArtandDesign.Hisfirstyear

requiredtakingthebasicfundamentalclasses:painting,drawing,andcolor.Tennessee

remembers,“ItwasdishearteningbecauseoneinstructorquestionedwhereIwas

gettingmycolorstoryfrom,askingme,‘Whydoyouthinkthatthisisappropriateuseof

color?’”

(TwiceUponaTimefromTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeries;©Disney)

Atthetime,Tennesseewaspaintingusingextremefluorescentcolors,especially

fluorescentyellowsandoranges,becausehecouldvisuallygraspthehighlysaturated

colorvalues.Hewasusingthebrightestcolors,buthedidn’treallyunderstandhowto

usethem,puttingvibrantyellowandbrilliantcerisewithbrowninportraitshewas

painting.Hisinstructorcommentedthathispaintingswere“nauseating!”Tothe

instructor’scredit,shedidemphasizeaneedtounderstandcolorbutthat

encouragementwasshort-lived.Thatwaswhenheinformedherthathewascolor-

blind.Sherecommendedhestepbackandresearchhisconditionmorethoroughly

beforebecomingapainter.Shesaid,“Asitstands,you’renevergoingtobe

commerciallysuccessfulifyoudon’tlearntounderstandcolor.”Thoseharshwordshad

aprofoundlynegativeeffectonTennessee’sartcareerbeforeitevengotstarted.

Thatcommentthrewhimintoatailspinandmadehimquestionwhathewas

doing.HesubsequentlylefttheSavannahCollegeofArtandDesignandtransferredto

theAmericanCollegeofAppliedArts,nowcalledAmericanIntercontinentalUniversity,

whereheshiftedhisfocustofashiondesign.“Itwasjustano-nameschool.Igraduated

withnotreallyunderstandinganything,andthatwasitandIthoughtthatwastheend

ofmyartcareer,”helaments.

Hewouldnotpaintagainfornearlysevenyears.

AftermovingtoSanFrancisco,Lovelessstartedtopaintagain,“Ipaintedadrag

queeninSanFranciscomainlybecausethepreviousweek,she’daskedmeto.Andso,I

didthatandthenanotherdragqueenaskedmetopaintherand,suddenly,Ibecame

thepainterofcabaretgirlsanddragqueensinSanFrancisco,”recallsTennessee.Before

heknewit,hehadaseriesoftwelvepaintingsdubbedtheDragandDeitiescollection.

(WakeUpandSmelltheSoundofCoffee,fromTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeries;©Disney)

LovelessthenmovedtoLosAngeleswherehestartedworkingforDisney

ConsumerProducts.Itwasduringthistimethathestartedtoseriouslystudycolor.

Becauseheinitiallylackedunderstandingofthesubject,Tennesseethrewhimselfinto

studyingcolortheory.“Itwaslike,well,I’mgoingtohavetounderstandwhattheword

meansandI’mgoingtohavetogetthattherearetwocolorsthatgotogetherandthere

aretwocolorsthatdon’tgotogether,”herecalls.“ThenI’mgoingtohavetohavean

indexofwhatthatisandwhatitmeanstome.”Inthebeginning,heworkedwith

acrylicsandcameupwithhisowncolor-indexingsystem.

Therearevariationsintheindexingcodesamongacrylic,oil,andothertypesof

paints,aswellasamongmanufacturers,butforthemostparttheyareclose.Theremay

besomedifferencebetweentwocolorshavingthesamecode,withonecolorbeing

slightlylighterordarker,buttheimportantpartisthatthecodeswereconsistentand

Tennesseewasabletomemorizethem.Inthebeginning,itwaseasierbecausehewas

dealingwithmostlyprimarycolors,butashispaintingsbegantoproliferatehestarted

togetintomorecomplexcolorschemes.

“Popisanartofimmediacy,ofbrilliance,ofmirthandjoy.Intheirwork,these

artistsfacethenow,thepresent,thetodaywithpleasureandacceptance,”asserts

SamuelGreen,thedirectoroftheInstituteofContemporaryArtinPhiladelphia.Art

historianSaraDorisputitthisway:“Popartwas,inthemostfundamentalway,anart

aboutconsumerculture.”writesBradfordR.CollinsinhisbookPopArt.Thisargument

wasmostevidencedbyartworkssuchasCampbell’sSoupCans,BrilloBoxes,Flowers,

andMarilynDiptychbyAndyWarholandMasterpiecebyRoyLichtenstein.

(TheinsideofTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeriesdustcoverfeaturesall100paintings;©Disney)

Bythosedefinitions,theartbeingcreatedbyTennesseefallssquarelywithin

contemporarypopart.HisTENxTENxTENseriesfeaturestheubiquitousandiconic

MickeyMouse,whohasbecomeanindeliblepartofAmerican—ifnotglobal—pop

culture.LiketheomnipresentCampbell’sSoupcansfoundinsupermarketsaroundthe

world,MickeyMouserepresentsasenseofcomfortandhappiness,asymbolofallthat

isgoodandwholesome.ItisonereasonwhyMickeyMouseadornssomanyproducts,

fromT-shirtstodiaperstolunchboxes.

ChoosingMickeyMousewasnotanaccident,saysTennessee.“ButIjustnever

envisioneditbeingthisbig.Thischangedmywholeentirewayofthinking.Honestly,I

thinkthatit’sareallygoodideatogoinsaneanddosomethingrepetitiveoverandover

againuntilyougettiredofitandyoufindoutsomethingnewaboutyourself.”

Initially,Tennessee’spaintingswereallaboutcolorstory.Hewasinsecureabout

beinganartistamongpeoplewhocouldseecolor;hewantedtogoaboveandbeyond,

totellacolorstorythroughemotions.Allofthecolorschemesweresupposedtobe

aboutsomethingverydramaticandeachcanvastolditsownstory.Eachpiecewas

hand-drawnandhewouldaddthecodedpigmentsinsideeachblockorcircleorlineso

heknewwhathewaspainting.Itwashisownpaint-by-numbermethod.Thiswork-

aroundsystemaddressedthecriticismhereceivedaboutusinggarishcolorswhileatthe

SavannahSchoolofArtandDesignyearsearlier.

Butitwasmorethanpaint-by-numbertoTennessee;itwasawayforhimto

associatewiththeimage.Andearlyonhewanteddesperatelytoprovehimselfasan

artist—togetoutfromunderneaththatcrushinganalysishe’dreceivedinartschool.

ImetTennesseeLovelessatadinnerinChicagoin2015whileIwasthereon

business.WewereseatednexttoeachotheranditwasthefirsttimeIhadachanceto

gettoknowhimandhearhisstory.Bytheendofdinner,heaskedmeifI’dbe

interestedindoingabookonhisonehundredpaintingsofMickeyMouse.Without

hesitation,IsaidyesandintheensuingweekspitchedittoDisneypublishing.Itwasa

no-brainergreatstoryanditfeaturedahundredwonderfulpaintingsofMickeyMouse

thatwerefresh.Anditdidn’thurtthatamajoranniversaryofMickeyMousewas

approachingin2018.

Lovelesshasavisuallanguagethatincorporateswritingandiconographyinto

manyofthepaintingswithintheTENxTENxTENseriesaswellasotherpaintingsthathe

hascreated.Heusesrecognizableshapesandimagessuchasdiamonds,lightbulbs,

leaves,clouds,crowns,andskullstotellhisstoriesandevokeemotionalresponses.Each

paintingseemstotellastory.Itisthekindofartthatyoucanlookatoverandover

againandseesomethingdifferenteachtime.OnepaintingtellsthestoryofWaltDisney

usingwordsandrecognizableiconsandsymbols.Eachpaintinghasisdifferentandfits

intooneoftencategories.ThechaptertitlesareLovelessLetters,Contemporary

Modern,BattleoftheSenses,AroundtheWorld,Metropolitan,HumanCondition,

Childrenofthe1980s,OddsandEnds,SketchWave,andGeometricSpectrum.

WhenaskedwhathewantspeopletogetoutoftheTENxTENxTENseriesof

paintings,TennesseeLovelesssays,“IthinkfromaDisneyperspectiveIwantpeopleto

enjoytheworldthattheyseeandunderstandthatwithMickeyit’sinfinite.Hehasan

infinitepossibilityofbeinginmultipleworldsanddoingallthesewonderfulthings.In

thebeginning,thiswasanideaofrecreatingand,inasense,reimaginingthisgreaticon

andfindingtheartistunderneath.”

Thenewbook,TheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENxTENx

TENContemporaryPopArtSeries,releasesonOctober31,2017justintimeforthe

holidayshoppingseason.Itisbeautifultwelve-inchesbytwelve-inchbookthatfeatures

allonehundredpaintingsbytheartist.Itisafascinatingstoryoftriumphoveradversity

coupledwiththevisuallyrichartworkofthiscontemporarypopartist.

AbouttheAuthor:DavidA.Bossertisanartist,filmmaker,andauthor.Heisa32-yearveteranofTheWaltDisneyCompanyandisanindependentproducer,creativedirector,andwriter.BossertisahistorianandisconsideredanauthorityandexpertonDisneyanimationhistory.HeisamemberoftheCalArtsBoardofTrusteesandisavisitingscholaratCarnegieMellonUniversity'sEntertainmentTechnologyCenter(ETC)inPittsburgh.Bossertco-authoredDisneyAnimated,whichwasnamediPadAppof2013byAppleandwonaprestigiousBritishAcademyofFilmandTelevisionArts(BAFTA)award.Heisalsotheauthoroftheseveralbooksincludinghislatest;OswaldtheLuckyRabbit:TheSearchfortheLostDisneyCartoons,andTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENxTENxTENContemporaryPopArtSerieswhicharepublishedbyDisneyEditions.Learnmoreatwww.davidbossert.com