A pair of beatniks approach, guitar in hand in the background.
A world-weary woman at the counter sullenly grasps a lemon soda while a couple on a motorbike pass by. Like some of Stenholm's other work, this is an observational scene that would have resonated with a young person's social experiences at that time.Īt our center, a young woman in a minidress and high boots takes aim at a shooting gallery game. The traditional carnival atmosphere is infiltrated with trendy UK-inspired fashions, bold colors, and shaggy haircuts. Straddling two worlds at once, we see Stenholm nodding to the cultural changes happening in America in the late 1960's. Though both released in 1970, Marche’s artwork is stylish, modern, and energetic, making Stenholm’s work seem subdued and old fashioned by comparison. These 2 backglasses illustrate just how striking the Contemporary Style was in comparison to the prevailing pinball art of the time. Here, artists could create scenes that defied gravity, physics, and anatomy to attract the attention of potential players. Broken down to the simplest elements, the work suggested movement through distorted perspective fully outside the boundaries of realism. The Contemporary Style captured energy and motion like no pinball art before it. With roots in Cubism, Futurism, and even International Style architecture, Kelley and Marche discarded ornament and detail, distilling their subjects down to straight lines, simple curves, and geometric blocks of color. Decidedly modern, this cut-paper style expanded the vocabulary available to pinball artists, marking a new chapter in how they reached players.Īngular, geometric abstraction factored heavily in the Contemporary Style, bringing avant garde influence to popular culture.
#Pinball life preserver full#
In a departure from the comic book and pin-up style illustrations popular in pinball art of the 1940’s and 50’s, Kelley (and later Marche), would develop a style full of flattened, exaggerated forms. Since Christian Marche was encouraged to emulate Kelly’s visual style, we can consider them both working within the same framework for their pointy people art. Jerry Kelley used the term Contemporary Style when discussing his work for Bally and Williams, and many credit him with moving pinball styling forward from the Pop Art look. With this exhibit, we hope his legacy in pinball art will be long remembered.
He often depicted women as active participants in sports, music, and other facets of fun and life, a departure from the pinball art up to then.Īrthur “Art” Stenholm passed away in 2007 at the age of 90.
Possibly influenced by the relationship with his daughters, Stenholm’s work encouraged and empowered women to play pinball by incorporating them playing the game directly into the artwork. Stenholm’s artwork is distinct from Parker’s in the way Stenholm frequently presented women as self-assured and capable human beings, rather than helpless glamour dolls and beauty props for male amusement. Regardless of whether or not he was groomed to be Parker’s replacement, Stenholm assumed the position of Gottlieb’s lead artist following Parker's death in 1966. There are many examples of Stenholm's involvement in Parker’s artworks such as World Fair, Kings and Queens, North Star, and Central Park. Roy Parker's failing health may have created a situation where he and Stenholm worked together on a few projects, with Parker training Stenholm as his heir to the Gottlieb artist throne. Stenholm’s boss, George Molentin, was the Art Director for Advertising Posters, and he managed the print production for all of the big pinball companies at the time. Advertising Posters was a graphic design company that produced artworks for pinball machine manufacturers Bally and Williams. Arthur “Art” Stenholm began working as commercial artist for Advertising Posters in March of 1964 with artists Roy Parker and George Molentin.
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