Davis puts new spin on art
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The work is part of a series of brick sculptures placed along the streets of Chattanooga which are the result of a public art competition and commission co-produced by the Association for Visual Arts and the Masonry Association of Chattanooga.
Davis, who, along with brother Gary, owns and operates Davis Sign Service, has been a self-employed artist since the mid-’70s. He is also adept in a wide variety of other mediums, including lithography and etching, along with drawing and painting with watercolor, oils and acrylics. In addition to his masonry sculpture, Davis also creates furniture, various 2-D and 3-D outdoor art, as well as murals that measure up to 60 feet in size.
Davis also has his own hand-cranked carousel, which is currently set up in his home on Bonner Street, for which all of the animals were designed and handmade by Davis, his wife Bonnie, and fellow artist William Dentzel III. The carousel is done with an agricultural and livestock theme, and has been featured at county fairs, the Tennessee State Fair, and other venues around the state.
Davis’ art has a decidedly retro style and is influenced by an early interest in comic book art, particularly Marvel Comics, and Pop Art from artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Davis recalled an early experience with creating his own comic art, which didn’t sit well with the powers that be.
“A friend of mine, Bert Gillespie, and I were drawing comic books in school and we were actually selling them. We were called into the principal’s office: ‘You can’t draw comic books at school and sell them,'” he recalled the principal saying. “Well, I thought this was a capitalist country,” he said with a laugh, but that early encounter with censorship didn’t deter his love for art or his creativity.
In fact, Davis’ home is a bit like a museum in its own right, featuring works by the artist, his wife Bonnie, an art photographer, and other artists whose work the Davises admire. But, according to Davis, the display is an evolving one.
“We change out all these paintings every so many months,” he said. “Right now we’ve got kid art, monsters and comic book heroes in here now, but a year from now, all this will be different. We just swap it out and do something else.”
Davis says most locals aren’t aware of his art, even though he and his brother did the reproduction of the Dr Pepper sign on the corner of Morford and Spring.
“In McMinnville I mostly do the commercial stuff and the signs, and that’s what people know,” he said.
Davis also has another love, cats, which are prominently featured in his work.
“I’m just known as ‘the cat guy, basically, in Chattanooga,” he said with a grin.
Though he doesn’t market his work much locally, he does create some art with a decidedly Warren County flair: paintings, stickers, magnets and cards with the phrase, “I turned at the Red Dog” emblazoned on them.
Davis currently has a show running at a shop called Needful Things in Chattanooga across the river from the aquarium. For more information on his art and future shows call 473-3742 for an appointment to visit his studio and check out his carousel and varied art works. For information on his award-winning masonry sculpture, visit the Web at www.tullahomafinearts.org/art_news.htm.