by Jacob A. Bennett

A Somerville artist, whose works are on display at Davis Square’s Diesel Café, spoke at the Feb. 25 contributors meeting of The Somerville News about his art and influences.

People need to engage themselves in the dialogue of how this country is constructed, of how corporations shape our lives, of what a lot of America really looks like: strip malls, products, consumption, said Jason Chase, a native of exurb Colorado who came east to earn to master’s degree in fine arts from Boston University.

The world he grew up in still drives his art, he said. “Growing up there, it was a strip mall atmosphere, and my work is influenced by that.”

Chase said his signature piece is the large painting of what could be recognized as the checkout lanes at a Wal-Mart.

The artist struggles with the line between painting and photography, depicting scenes in a realistic style, but with his own interpretive license, he said.

The painting subjects are chosen to be familiar, he said. But, the meaning changes when objects such as gummy bears are painted in extreme close up.

A self-sufficient artist since graduating from B.U. in 2003, Chase said he breaks up his schedule with smaller, less demanding pieces, such as still life studies of toy store food sets. One example, now hanging in Diesel, is the painting of a shiny plastic hot dog in a bun.

“I don’t know what it is, but this shiny, plastic, American food was appealing to me,” he said.

The reactions have been mixed, he said.

At a show in Colorado, Chase said he overheard a conversation about his painting of a Weeble, the egg-shaped toys that wobble, but do not fall down.
“There were these two women, who obviously hated the work. One asked the other, ‘Who painted the frozen food?’ and she answered, ‘Probably the same jackass who painted the Weebles!’” he said.

Chase said he dismisses the idea that his work is Pop.

Instead, he said he is interested in trying to direct his audiences’ attention to the glut of commercial marketing to which everyone is subject. “I used to not want to get too preachy, get too political, but that’s because I didn’t know what preachy meant until the last few years.”

One step in a political direction was his painting of small, green plastic soldiers. Shown up close, they are pressed against the inside of their plastic bag, some seem to be plotting to escape, others do not.

The most provocative of Chase’s future works will consist of a large mushroom cloud made of individual, photo-realistic pieces of popcorn, pouring out of an overturned Jiffy-Pop bag.