Bruce Stark
(b.1933)
This Exit: Without a doubt, Bruce Stark was the first visual artist with whose work I became completely and utterly obsessed. His drawings of athletes were printed on cotton T-shirts, trucker hats, and pennants in the 1980’s. I collected them all and still have them. From 1960 to 1982, Stark was a staff artist with The N.Y. Daily News, contributing portraits of cultural entities; primarily TV stars, musicians, and politicians. In addition to collecting (and wearing) apparel bearing his drawings, I wanted to draw like him. Like Mad Magazine’s Mort Drucker and even Norman Rockwell, Stark is a graceful illustrator whose playfulness is rooted in a deep and thorough understanding of anatomy and technique, making his work fun to experience but an elusive and frustrating end in which to aspire. View more of his work at the artist’s website, www.artofbrucestark.com.
