See you at the Salon

David Ball’s studio is covered in clippings and images he has collected, all linked by a similar color palette of burnt oranges and light blues. That’s how he starts the painting process, with a bit of inspiration but no deliberate composition.

“It’s almost like a Rorschach test,” Ball says. “I stare at an image long enough that it starts to evoke something for me.”

The result is usually a blend of dark and dreamy surrealism—scenes of creatures and people that seem pieced together from something else.

Though he claims his work is somewhere between surrealism and expressionism, it is enough to see why he was chosen to judge this month’s Surreal Salon at Baton Rouge Gallery.

Ball, who calls San Francisco home, will select the top contenders from a local and national pool of surrealist works on display Jan. 3-28 at the gallery in City Park. The juried competition culminates with a costumed ball and live music Jan. 23.

The month-long event is quite a change from last year’s successful Surreal Ball, which focused on one night of art, music and elaborate costumes and featured a juried art competition of more than 35 Louisiana artists.

Besides showcasing local talents with a strong command of the surrealist brush, last April’s festivities brought out the creative juices in locals who showed up dressed as their favorite artists, like Frida Kahlo, or even their favorite paintings.

“We were really blown away by the quality of the costumes,” says John Michael Byrd, special events coordinator for the Baton Rouge Gallery. “With it being in its second year, people are getting really competitive.”

And the artistic submissions are just as elaborate. Artists were allowed to submit painting, sculpture, photography and even video inspired by the surrealist movement.

“We opened it to any medium as long as it’s tangible and show-able,” Byrd says.

Though what constitutes surrealist art these days has been blurred, the process usually involves painting automatically, without consciously trying to evoke an idea in the work or direct the brush. The movement even found its way to literature, where more writers are using a stream-of-conscious style.

Still, Ball and Byrd agree they’ve sought out pieces that are mainly inspired by the surrealist movement, though don’t adhere to any strict principles.

“Ideally with most of the submissions that come through, I don’t really want somebody taking out pictures of (Salvador) Dali and putting that next to a canvas and trying to do something Dali-esque,” Ball says.

Ball’s own work often uses surrealism as a starting point before developing a deliberate narrative. And though surrealism began as early as the 1920s, Ball’s work shows the movement has a welcome place in modern culture. He is often commissioned by publications for his collage-like illustrations that have appeared in the likes of Village Voice and the Chicago Tribune.

How does he feel about critiquing another artist’s work? As a teacher at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, Ball is used to evaluating the work of others and is excited to sort through the submissions.

“I’m just really bummed out that I can’t submit,” Ball says, laughing.

For Byrd, the event is one he hopes will continue to grow at the Baton Rouge Gallery and bring in lots of national talent.

“This is the most fun event I’ve been involved in here in Baton Rouge,” Byrd says. “It’s really exciting to bring in artists who work here and from all over the country.”

Count David Ball in that category. He’ll make his first-ever trip to Baton Rouge to see the surrealist works he’s judged for the Surreal Salon.