They're both 58 years old, and they've both been creating artwork professionally for decades. They're linked by this weekend's Riverssance Festival of Fine Art in Lindsay Park but have very different attitudes toward the life of a professional artist.
Ralph Iaccarino is the winner of this year's Riverssance Harley award - given annually to recognize an area artist's contributions to the local arts community - and John Willer's artwork is the basis for this year's festival T-shirt. Yet while ebullient Quad Cities artist Iaccarino has carved out an artistic career that he finds fulfilling, the Arkansas-based Willer concedes he's not sure how long he'll continue his financially rewarding career as an artist.
Iaccarino uses the word "ascendant" more often in a half-hour than most people do in a lifetime, and he sounds driven by constructive desires - to create, to educate, and to help others. Willer said he's frustrated and fretful. "I'm just going to be another burned-out street artist," he said.
Both men are successful, in the sense that art is their primary vocation. But the ability to sell one's artwork doesn't necessarily translate into satisfaction. Willer is proof that sometimes art is just a job. He wanted it to be more, but the sacrifices he's made for commerce have taken a toll.
Putting Art into the Hands of Everyone
Iaccarino's career has melded his own desires with those of his father. "I always liked art," Iaccarino said. "I always figured I'd be an artist. ... I liked to design rocket ships. ... I liked to draw." But his father wanted his kids to be teachers, and his grandfather made him promise that he'd help people. Iaccarino has fused those into a job that combines art, education, and marketing.
That wasn't necessarily a natural path for him; it appears that at each point in his career Iaccarino has created obstacles to overcome. One thing that appealed to Iaccarino about artwork was its solitary and introspective nature; teaching is a social activity. Iaccarino wasn't good with watercolors in school, but he's chosen that as his primary medium.
While in college at St. Ambrose in the late 1960s, Iaccarino was in a band called the Loved Ones. The group's performances "seasoned me," Iaccarino said, which helped him when he had to get in front of students. Still, "it took several years to really get the hang" of teaching.
Helping others learn to create art was also a form of self-education, he said: "It forced me to learn a lot of things myself. It's process."
Through his teaching, Iaccarino hopes to give students something he didn't have in school: practical instruction that gives people of all skill levels access to art-making. "I never really had a lot of art in school," he said. And the instruction he did get wasn't very helpful. "I wanted to change everything I didn't like about school," he said.
Even though Iaccarino was referring to his primary- and secondary-education experiences, that statement also applies to his college days. Iaccarino was among several students asked to leave the art department by Father Edward Catich. Iaccarino said his relationship with Catich was adversarial, and his reaction to that informs his teaching style. "It reaffirmed to me ... [that] you have to teach everyone with the same amount of courtesy and respect. ... When you teach people, you should do it with a loving hand."
Iaccarino employs what he calls "sequential art plans," breaking down art into easily digestible component parts so students build a "vocabulary" of artistic techniques. "How do I demystify artwork?" he asked himself, with the goal of putting it "into the reach of everyone."
His education extends far beyond the classroom. He produces a television program, Art with Mr. I, as well as an artist-interview segment called "The Creators" for the WQPT program Life & Times. He's now working to get Art with Mr. I videos into classrooms, helping educators teach art to young people.
Throughout, Iaccarino wants to spread a message of the power of creation. He has two favorite slogans: "Easy to be a critic, harder to be a visionary" and "Every individual has a choice in life: to create, to destroy, or do nothing at all."
His own artwork started as social commentary. When he traveled, he painted what he saw. And when he saw the rainforest in Costa Rica for the first time in the early '70s, "I was hooked," he said. "Little by little, I went more to the ascendant."
He's been to Costa Rica two dozen times and spent more than two years there. "I love all the shapes and forms" of the rainforest, he said. "There are no letters to translate into words. It's pure nature."
His rainforest watercolors are vibrant and detailed, but his use of color renders them nearly extraterrestrial and abstract. He also paints murals in acrylics, and he's working on contemporary mandalas for a November-December show at MidCoast Gallery West.
Although Iaccarino preaches a philosophy of empowerment and ascendancy, he's also aware that he has to make a living. His artwork provides a majority of his income, with teaching and other engagements providing the rest. "I have to develop my own career," he said. "It's not an easy career."
Still Searching for Satisfaction
Willer's artistic choices come less from passion than commerce. His skilled oils feature musical themes - jazz clubs and symphonies - in a manner that's both representational and abstract. That style is evident on his painting for this year's Riverssance T-shirt, featured on this issue's cover.
The musical theme developed because "I found it was a huge seller," said Willer in a phone interview from his home. "I was kind of searching for a subject anyway."
Willer has been to Riverssance multiple times and said he enjoys it. "It's very lucrative to do street shows, and Davenport's always been one of my favorites," he said.
Art shows, essentially, get his work in front of people, which is important because he hasn't made many inroads into the gallery scene. He went to art school in Memphis and soon after landed in Arkansas, and wonders whether geography might have made a difference in his career. "I think if I had gone to New York [City] in the early '60s, it might have been different," he said.
While the artistic side of his work remains rewarding, the commercial side isn't as attractive. Davenport is a 1,200-mile round trip, and he just returned from a show in upstate New York - a total of 2,200 miles. He said he doesn't mind the travel, but he sounds displeased about painting to sell, rather than for its own sake.
"I get real restless and bored," Willer said. With art shows, "a lot of the excitement is gone."
Willer said he's not sure what he's going to do. As a professional artist for 35 years, "it's too late now" to enter the workforce in another field, and he said he's not qualified to do anything else.
But art shows such as Riverssance have benefits beyond sales, including encouraging children to pursue artwork. "There's always rewards," Willer said. "I always meet interesting people."
Ralph Iaccarino is the winner of this year's Riverssance Harley award - given annually to recognize an area artist's contributions to the local arts community - and John Willer's artwork is the basis for this year's festival T-shirt. Yet while ebullient Quad Cities artist Iaccarino has carved out an artistic career that he finds fulfilling, the Arkansas-based Willer concedes he's not sure how long he'll continue his financially rewarding career as an artist.
Iaccarino uses the word "ascendant" more often in a half-hour than most people do in a lifetime, and he sounds driven by constructive desires - to create, to educate, and to help others. Willer said he's frustrated and fretful. "I'm just going to be another burned-out street artist," he said.
Both men are successful, in the sense that art is their primary vocation. But the ability to sell one's artwork doesn't necessarily translate into satisfaction. Willer is proof that sometimes art is just a job. He wanted it to be more, but the sacrifices he's made for commerce have taken a toll.
Putting Art into the Hands of Everyone
Iaccarino's career has melded his own desires with those of his father. "I always liked art," Iaccarino said. "I always figured I'd be an artist. ... I liked to design rocket ships. ... I liked to draw." But his father wanted his kids to be teachers, and his grandfather made him promise that he'd help people. Iaccarino has fused those into a job that combines art, education, and marketing.
That wasn't necessarily a natural path for him; it appears that at each point in his career Iaccarino has created obstacles to overcome. One thing that appealed to Iaccarino about artwork was its solitary and introspective nature; teaching is a social activity. Iaccarino wasn't good with watercolors in school, but he's chosen that as his primary medium.
While in college at St. Ambrose in the late 1960s, Iaccarino was in a band called the Loved Ones. The group's performances "seasoned me," Iaccarino said, which helped him when he had to get in front of students. Still, "it took several years to really get the hang" of teaching.
Helping others learn to create art was also a form of self-education, he said: "It forced me to learn a lot of things myself. It's process."
Through his teaching, Iaccarino hopes to give students something he didn't have in school: practical instruction that gives people of all skill levels access to art-making. "I never really had a lot of art in school," he said. And the instruction he did get wasn't very helpful. "I wanted to change everything I didn't like about school," he said.
Even though Iaccarino was referring to his primary- and secondary-education experiences, that statement also applies to his college days. Iaccarino was among several students asked to leave the art department by Father Edward Catich. Iaccarino said his relationship with Catich was adversarial, and his reaction to that informs his teaching style. "It reaffirmed to me ... [that] you have to teach everyone with the same amount of courtesy and respect. ... When you teach people, you should do it with a loving hand."
Iaccarino employs what he calls "sequential art plans," breaking down art into easily digestible component parts so students build a "vocabulary" of artistic techniques. "How do I demystify artwork?" he asked himself, with the goal of putting it "into the reach of everyone."
His education extends far beyond the classroom. He produces a television program, Art with Mr. I, as well as an artist-interview segment called "The Creators" for the WQPT program Life & Times. He's now working to get Art with Mr. I videos into classrooms, helping educators teach art to young people.
Throughout, Iaccarino wants to spread a message of the power of creation. He has two favorite slogans: "Easy to be a critic, harder to be a visionary" and "Every individual has a choice in life: to create, to destroy, or do nothing at all."
His own artwork started as social commentary. When he traveled, he painted what he saw. And when he saw the rainforest in Costa Rica for the first time in the early '70s, "I was hooked," he said. "Little by little, I went more to the ascendant."
He's been to Costa Rica two dozen times and spent more than two years there. "I love all the shapes and forms" of the rainforest, he said. "There are no letters to translate into words. It's pure nature."
His rainforest watercolors are vibrant and detailed, but his use of color renders them nearly extraterrestrial and abstract. He also paints murals in acrylics, and he's working on contemporary mandalas for a November-December show at MidCoast Gallery West.
Although Iaccarino preaches a philosophy of empowerment and ascendancy, he's also aware that he has to make a living. His artwork provides a majority of his income, with teaching and other engagements providing the rest. "I have to develop my own career," he said. "It's not an easy career."
Still Searching for Satisfaction
Willer's artistic choices come less from passion than commerce. His skilled oils feature musical themes - jazz clubs and symphonies - in a manner that's both representational and abstract. That style is evident on his painting for this year's Riverssance T-shirt, featured on this issue's cover.
The musical theme developed because "I found it was a huge seller," said Willer in a phone interview from his home. "I was kind of searching for a subject anyway."
Willer has been to Riverssance multiple times and said he enjoys it. "It's very lucrative to do street shows, and Davenport's always been one of my favorites," he said.
Art shows, essentially, get his work in front of people, which is important because he hasn't made many inroads into the gallery scene. He went to art school in Memphis and soon after landed in Arkansas, and wonders whether geography might have made a difference in his career. "I think if I had gone to New York [City] in the early '60s, it might have been different," he said.
While the artistic side of his work remains rewarding, the commercial side isn't as attractive. Davenport is a 1,200-mile round trip, and he just returned from a show in upstate New York - a total of 2,200 miles. He said he doesn't mind the travel, but he sounds displeased about painting to sell, rather than for its own sake.
"I get real restless and bored," Willer said. With art shows, "a lot of the excitement is gone."
Willer said he's not sure what he's going to do. As a professional artist for 35 years, "it's too late now" to enter the workforce in another field, and he said he's not qualified to do anything else.
But art shows such as Riverssance have benefits beyond sales, including encouraging children to pursue artwork. "There's always rewards," Willer said. "I always meet interesting people."
