 "Photo: Yelena Kisler")
 "Photo: Yelena Kisler")
 "Photo: Yelena Kisler")
 "Photo: Yelena Kisler")
Brian Sproul’s artwork was never seen outside of his home until now. For the first time his work will be exhibited at the Reese Bullen Gallery at HSU in a whole new light.
Sproul only wanted to be able to exhibit his work, but he was never able to. When he died in 2008, he donated all of his artwork to HSU in his will. The Art of Brian Sproul exhibit shows 110 pieces from now until March 12.
Sproul was always an arts and crafts kid but his main passion was playing drums. At first Sproul played jazz, classical and later rock. As he got older he joined a local garage band and did small gigs. But his love for the drums ended when he was 22. Sproul was struck by a drunk driver in a government vehicle and the injuries confined him to a wheelchair.
After the accident, Sproul began to do art. Often his artwork was created from recycled materials and objects collected in thrift stories. He collected everything from decorations and mannequins to books and plastic spiders. One of Sproul’s closest friends, Beth Dunlap, helped Sproul put together his artwork. The two met at the California Conservations Corps before Sproul’s accident, and Sproul called Dunlap his “creative extension on a ladder.” Dunlap worked for Sproul for 25 years. “He’d always have a list of things for me to do. He helped me live an extraordinary life,” she said.
Richard Alwine, Sproul’s older brother, said seeing the artwork in the gallery gives a whole new view. “He’d be thrilled to see this,” he said.
Miriam Hutchins, his mother, said that it is “marvemous that the gallery has been put together.”
An art student viewing the exhibit, Katie Breuer, said the artwork is creative and interesting.
“I would never think of using [toy] heads in this way,” she said. Sproul uses many plastic dolls, especially doll heads, and puts them on top of other items like sticks. In one piece it seems as though he melted the doll’s head to reshape it for a whole new appearance.
A lot of the art is 3-D, and all of Sproul’s artwork has some sort of theme that ranges from funky to dark. One display is several pink, green and glow-in-the-dark plastic hands. Another display combines doll heads and plastic animals.
In another, there is a heart-shaped piece of wood with a picture of the McKinley statue in downtown Arcata. Below the picture it says, “Arcata is a hairy place” with fur lining the heart.
Artists such as James Hampton, Henry Darger, Howard Finster and Romano Gabriel inspired Sproul in his own artwork. These artists are also known for sculpting and creating art from recycled materials. From viewing Sproul’s work, you can see influence of the artists that inspired him. Henry Darger’s painting, which contains two large orange hands, is similar to Spoul’s display with two giant pink hands.
Some of the artwork is available for purchase. The rest has been selected to become part of the permanent collection of art at HSU. The proceeds will go to the Brian Sproul Endowment fund to help enrich the experience of students in the Art Department. In addition to the selective artwork for sale, the unframed photographs taken of Sproul’s home are for sale as well.
“The artwork is very expressive,” said art history sophomore Melissa Barrett. “The mood tends to be rather dark, but it’s amazing all the details and time taken to create the work.”
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