Jazz
David’s works evoke his love for jazz and its creators (though he also loved opera and chamber music). His portraits Chico's Choice, Billy's Boy, and Little Rootie Tootie invite us to share both in the artist's and musicians' intensity.
About David
David was a visionary artist and professor.
Born in Toledo, Ohio, he had his art education at Marlboro College in Vermont, the University of Wisconsin, the Brooklyn Museum School, and at New York University. He became a professor at the University of Maine, Orono, where he taught art, design, architecture and Canadian studies for 35 years.
David was a lover of opera and chamber music. His love and knowledge of jazz led him to produce "Salt Peanuts", a weekly program for Maine Public Radio.
David's work has been reproduced in The New York Times, The Saturday Review of Literature, The Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee Sentinel, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, and Art New England. His work has also appeared in exhibition catalogues from The Seattle Art Museum, Albion College Museum, Olivet College Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, The DeCordova Museum, the Boston Printmakers Exhibit, and The IBM Gallery, New York.
Reflections on David's Work
Caption for the first reflection photo goes here.
First Reflection Title
This is where the first reflection content would go. This area can accommodate longer texts and will scroll if needed. You can include multiple paragraphs here to share memories, thoughts, or stories about David.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Caption for the second reflection photo goes here.
Second Reflection Title
Every piece of David Owen Decker’s work expresses his passion for music, theatre, film, and literature. This collection of his art reflects the depth and complexity of his relationship with the creative work of some of his favorite musicians, playwrights, and novelists, as well as the humor and sentiment of his subjects’ relationships with themselves, others, and their world..
David’s works evoke his love for jazz and its creators (though he also loved opera and chamber music). His portraits Chico's Choice, Billy's Boy, and Little Rootie Tootie invite us to share both in the artist's and musicians' intensity.
David also loved theatre, film, and literature. Many of his works were inspired by James Joyce, and characters from Ulysses in particular, including Molly Bloom and Blazes Boylan. Playwright Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape inspired several versions of Krapp in a tub listening to the voice of his youth, and Beckett’s End Game characters interact from their dustbins for an audience in Wapping Chronicle. The 1961 film Last Year in Marienbad by Alain Robbe-Grillet led David to create one of his large painted wood pieces, Marienbad Meeting, and Merci, Humpee Sur la Plage gives new life to Mercy Humpee from the 1969 British musical by Anthony Newley, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humpee and Find True Happiness?
The warmth and humor of David’s creative mind came through in many ways beyond his formal works. Friends and family always enjoyed his letters and wrapped gifts illustrated with his liberal manipulations of found art, highlighted with stars and frames.
David lived in Salem, MA with his wife Lynn, in their home filled with art of many genres, and collections of music and books.
Gallery
Literature
David drew on theatre, film, and literature, from Joyce’s Ulysses (Molly Bloom, Blazes Boylan) and Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape and End Game (Wapping Chronicle) to Robbe-Grillet’s Last Year in Marienbad (Marienbad Meeting) and Newley’s Can Heironymus Merkin... (Merci, Humpee Sur la Plage).