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Tahe afantastical safari through artist
David Bech's magical, musical hingdom
By Kristen M. Scheuing
s a child in Muncie, Indiana, David Beck's bela-
bored drawings and pictures wouldn't last long in
one piece until he got the urge to punch holes
through them. You see, David, who
now lives in San Francisco, had developed an
early taste for 3-D, and by ripping holes into
his papers, he could then build something up
out of them, moving beyond simple planar
pieces. Today the popular artist beckons you
to step through another hole into his peculiar,
provocative wonderland that brims with exqui-
site craftsmanship, quirky creatures, music,
movement and astute social commentary-all,
cloaked in farcical comedy.
OCTOBER 1999 39

3. and private spaces in his art and how they relate
to each other. The public spaces are the large
exteriors of his pieces
-
the areas which viewers
see, as part of a group experience. The private
spaces, he explains, are the interiors of his con-
tainers, the areas that pull the spectator in, offer-
ing uniquely intimate experiences.
At flrst glance, "L'Opera" (I998), the artist's
tribute to the world of opera, which was exhibited
at the Smithsonian from December 1998, through
April this year, has all the intimacy of a pick-up
truck. The 78- x 50- x76'/,-inch shell is cold and
foreboding with its rugged-textured, slate-gray
and verdigris exterior. A dragon from Wagner's
"Ring Cycle" guards the sculpture's entrance.
But step up to peer into a tiny wi.ndow and the
exterior gives way to a colorful and comical para-
dise. The interior of the grand opera house holds a
cast of 200 cavorting characters, who perform ten-
minute acts thanks to an intricate system of pul-
leys and electric motors created by the artist.
Inside David Beck's world of opera, some char-
acters are staging the final scene of Verdi's "Aida"
with Radames and Aida herself on the verge of
death as slaves, soldiers and beasts ofburden look
on. The stage is flanked by towering carved
columns dedicated to the great operas. Dozens of
black and white clad clowns from Leoncavallo's "I
Pagliacci" make up the giant orchestra.
Connoisseurs will recognize other famous
opera figures among the audience. Five imps from
Boito's "Mefistofele," for instance, have shown up
for the show, and there's a whole row of
Brunnhildes
-
sporting viking helmets and
breastplates
-
from "Die Walkure," second in
Wagner's monumental tetralogy, "The Ring
Cycle." David honors all of the great tragedies
here, but Mozart's "The Magic Flute," seems to set
the tone. One camp o[ critics sees "The Magic
Flute" as a profound diatribe on good versus evil;
others take it as a farce, loaded with nonsensical
imagery and symbolism. Scholars may battle over
the same issue when analyzing this masterpiece,
which today is part of the Tully and Elise Fried-
man collection.
i' :' *r,{' 'Op6ra" is a good example of
? 1 *. how deceptive the exteriors of
'a David Beck's pieces can be, in
,, view of the light-hearted interi-
..1:/,/:,,r,.,r,.,,.,;lors. lt also
encapsulates the contrast
between the public and the
private. The experience
becomes intimate as viewers
step up to the piece, bend
closer, encircle it, anx-
iously wait their turns
David Beck's
eclectic mix of
styles and skills is
seen in this shot
looking toward
the stage, left.
Note the Moorish-
style black and
white checkered
pattern and the
ornamental wood
inlay. Below, a
gargoyle-like beast
guards an entrance
of "L'Op6ra."
"David has great vision and imagination that,
with his unique and particular point of view plus
exquisite craftsrnanship, all add up to magic,
which is what art is all about."
OCTOBER 1999 4l

4. This detail of the
stage of "L'Op6ra,"
showcases David's
incredible
craftsmanship and
mastery of diverse
media. The pillars
have been
painstakingly
covered in eggshell.
42 DOLLHOUSE MINIATI]RES
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5. A sunny interior
shot of David Beck's
"L'Op6ra," left,
contrasts sharply
with the sober
exterior of his
feathered "Dodo
Museum," below.
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at tiny windows, jockeying to find the best van-
tage point. In the end, more than one glimpse is
needed to fully appreciate the craftsmanship and
deft use of materials as diverse as copper sheeting,
brass, fine woods, leather, gold leaf, eggshell,
enamel, lacquer, oiI, encaustic and gouache paint-
ing, glass, mink, velvet, satin moire and lights
bulbs.
Although "L'Op6ra" was meant to be a visual
piece
-
"I couldn't think of a way to include
music without having it compete with what's
going on," David Beck says
-
he has incorpo-
rated music and movement in much of his
work.
"Danse de l'Estomac" (1997), a mixed-media
box construction that measures only 3%u x 31/t x
2'A rnches, incredibly contains a belly dancer and
three musicians performing on stage. With a turn
of the crank on the side of the box, the dancer's
stomach begins to undulate as the musicians
move and play their instruments. "Tunisian Noc-
turne," completed the following year, is larger
-6 x 6 x 2.2 inches
-
and also features a stage
with performers that move. This piece is a tribute
to the jazz classic, "Night in Tunisia."
These two boxes reflect both the artist's inter-
est in music
-
David plays baritone sax in a San
Francisco jazz quartet
-
and in Moorish art and
architecture. "I've always been drawn to [Moorish
stylel," he says, and particularly likes strong black
and white stripes and patterns that are common
in Eastern art and architecture. The Arabic arches
that adorn Moorish architecture often pop up in
David's work.
laudia Stone, director of the Allan
Stone Gallery, calls David a genius.
"He has great vision and imagination
that, with his unique and particular
"%*,@ee point of view plus exquisite crafts-
manship, all add up to magic, which is what art is
all about." She has enjoyed watching David
develop as an artist over the years. "Every time I
think he can't improve on something, he outdoes
himself, yet nothing Ithat he created] before is
diminished. He has developed a wondrous refine-
ment of vision," she says. ",i
Alitha Zapf , also o[ the Stone Gallery, calls
David's early work "raw," pointing out that
he spent a lot of time those first years in
New York City scavenging garbage cans
for material. It was there, for
example, that he found the tlpe-
writer keys that eventually
ended up as tiny door handles
on the many little doors that are
part of his piece "Rhinorama"
(1979). FromJune 4 through
September lZ, !999, the
Guggenheim presented 700
"Every time I think he can't improve on something, he outdoes
himself, yet nothing lthat he created] before is diminished."
Photo/Allan Stone Gallery, NYC
OCTOBER 1999 43

6. This side of the 6'/z-
x 5'/,-f oot leather-
clad "Rhinorama,"
above, reveals
some of the 60
roomboxes that
feature animals
acting like humans
and humans
dressed as animals.
pieces of art constituting the largest surrealist
exhibit ever shown in this country. David's "Rhi-
norama," now in the Daniel Filipacchi collection,
found a place of honor among the world's pre-
mier surrealists including Dali, Ernst, Kahlo,
Magritte, de Chirico and Man Ray. "Rhinorama"
is a large, mixed-media piece the size and shape
of a baby rhinocerous
-
6'/, x 5'l feet. Inside the
massive chassis are 60 leather-clad roomboxes.
One room in the belly of the beast has been made
into a theater with people dancing on the stage
dressed as rhinos.
World According to David Beck"
-
is a tribute
to the extinct oddity, the dodo bird. Like
"L'Opera," "The Dodo Museum" is a large,
enclosed mixed-media construction (86'/, x 36 x
38 inches). The main section of the feathered
museum is bursting with the giant carved like-
ness of a skeleton.
After putting in a stint at a Dresden, Germany,
exhibit called "Darwin and Darwinism: Exhibition
on Natural and Cultural History," "The Dodo
Museum" today is at the Des Moines Art Center
(through November) as part of the exhibit "Some-
times Warm andFuzzy'. Childhood and Contem-
porary Art."
Consider for one moment how one single work
of art can be used to exemplify two utterly differ-
ent exhibits and you can begin to understand the
bewitching appeal of this artist's work across all
age groups and beyond classification.
avid is drawn to the quirky creatures
of the human race and animal king-
dom. "The Dodo Museum" (1980)
-
first exhibited at the Smithsonian
in 1993 along with three other
works under the title "Fauna and Figures: The
DOLLHOUSE MINIATURES44

7. David Beck's wit
and diversity at
play in these four
roomboxes that
make up the
innards of
"Rhinorama."
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*tf'**t*.. avid's taste as a collector is as eclec-
# $. tic as the media he uses in his
H $ pieces. His own collection is a
X ,ff "mishmash" of paintings by friends,
,i$.*,*;,Fr natural history "stuff," Roman glass,
African masks and reliquaries, arrowheads,
stuffed birds and animals, micro-minis and little
painted envelopes of Mexican voo-doo powders
that "you can only find in California." The artist
also claims to have the world's largest collection
of chopsticks.
As an artist, collector and miniaturist, David
chronicles the wildly eclectic, wonderfully ani-
malistic side of life. Mingling inspiration from the
arts and nature, he gives a fanciful slant on life,
and one that should not be taken too seriously.
Through sheer quality and innovativeness,
David's work is destined to move beyond any
mere "intimate" following. S
Serious inquiries into Dqvid
Bech's work shouldbe directed
to the Allan Stone Gallery, 773
Edst 90th Street, New Yorh NY,
10128: 212-987-4997.
s
,9
E
David Beck
OCTOBER 1999 45