November-December 1992 - W.E.T. Studios by Catharine Clark

You may not have met George Mead, but if you have been to San Francisco, you know him. Every corner proudly displays his artistic hand. His powerful command of color, his intuitive attention to detail, and his unique sense of design strike you. Who hasn't experienced the displays at Tower Records in North Beach? Hardly a person leaves San Francisco without seeing Mead's exuberant visuals. If I were assembling an exhibition of the most desirable airbrush billboard art, the work of George Mead and his crew at W.E.T. Studios would be my first choice. In fact, Mead approaches every project as if it were a fine art exhibition piece.

"There is a narrow line between commercial and fine art. Someone once asked Picasso, 'What is fine art?' and Picasso retorted, 'What isn't?' Intrinsic to success in both fields are quality and integrity - goals to which W.E.T. Studios has consistently aspired." These were Mead's comments at our meeting his spacious studio that has recently relocated to Second Street in San Francisco. Mead's reference to Picasso took me back in time to the invention of commercial and advertising art, its roots in fine art. The late-nineteenth-century invention of the large-scale lithographic poster by Jules Cheret and the subsequent development of the medium by Toulouse-Lautrec, Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, and Leonetto Cappiello, the father of modern advertising, launched billboard art into the prominent realm that it occupies still today.

As I glanced about the impressive office space, hovering like a balcony over the studio, I noticed that the room was bespeckled with photographs and posters documenting Mead's commissions for clients as diverse as Robert Plant, the San Francisco Opera, Mick Jagger, the Palace Hotel, U2, Amnesty International, the Rolling Stones, and the Big Heart City club. Undeniably, Mead's W.E.T. Studios has one of the most ambitious, talented and committed airbrush crews around. Adobe, Journey, American Conservatory Theater, L.A. Gear, the Who, Visa, Rainbow Records, Disney and Apple Computer are the names of only a handful of patrons that surfaced during my perusal of the numerous portfolios documenting W.E.T. Studios' past projects. That W.E.T. Studios has been an outstanding success in garnering jobs from the top artists in the music industry as well as from other major companies is evident in its recent move from the 3,500 square foot current space on Treat Avenue to an 8,000 square foot warehouse-studio at 750 Second Street in San Francisco. "The move," said George excitedly, "has allowed us to complete larger projects on site rather than having to rent out additional space as we were were forced to do occasionally in the past." Mead's notable accomplishment is also evident in his aside that W.E.T. Studios' business has fortunately not suffered in the current recession; on the contrary, it has grown significantly in the past year.

The growth is due to Mead and his five crew member's teamwork. Several of the artists have worked at W.E.T. Studios for many years. The staff includes Jeff Sadowski, the lead person; Rory Ransom; Eddie Gibbons; Greg Pecho; and Roger Skillin.

Speaking with Mead gave me a clear understanding for how W.E.T. Studios has managed to meet the needs of its numerous clients. Mead himself is a handsome, dedicated artist with a deep concern for social contribution who has long been involved with public art on a number of levels. His early career began with his choice for an education at Antioch College because of the social bent in its art program. Later, while at California College of Arts and Crafts, Mead won a National Endowment for the Arts grant to create a large-scale mural on the wall of a downtown Oakland building. His career continued with his involvement in a project creating murals for the beautification of public housing, which was facilitated by three separate grants from the California Arts Council. His current work still occupies a public venue and serves a social function of sorts. "Hopefully," Mead commented earnestly, " although I am no longer working in the same public sector -- because the funding for social service art has been eliminated from our government's budget -- my personal artistic endeavors and my commercial artistic jobs, as well as my desire to have the new studio space foster a sense of community where artists come to perform, undertake large-scale projects, and interact. I feel I am still meeting my earliest goals as a public artist." Mead believes that art should be simultaneously complex and accessible to the public at large. The accessibility requirement is both a literal concern and a conceptual one. The imagery and the physical context should be available to every interested viewer. Murals function in this realm. Commercial commissions for Tower Record displays, CD and record covers, and rock concert backdrops also serve Mead's dual purpose. Furthermore, Mead's business and personal philosophies of social accountability are reflected in the studio's ongoing relationship with Project Open Hand; an organization that provides food for people with AIDS.

Mead and his crew work carefully and rapidly using Iwata HP-C airbrushes exclusively. Not only do they take on airbrush jobs for a wide variey of industries, but they also indulge in some design work. In fact, for recent European tours, Mead designed and created the sets for the Tubes and codesigned and created with Prairie Prince the set for Santana. Most recently, Mead completed a mural for the popular San Francisco club, Big Heart City.

The creative projects reveal Mead's foundation and connection to the so-called fine arts. In the mural for Big Heart City, triangular shapes both expose and obscure segmented information of an underlying realist image. The work is suggestive of Rosenquist. "I am influenced by pop art," says Mead. "I have always felt connected to the social contribution the pop artists made."

Other influences on Mead are a result of his past work experience for L.A. Fine Arts Squad, Warner Brother in Los Angeles, and Bill Graham's FM Productions in San Francisco. "From working in these industries I learned a lot about the importance of a craft and the legibility of a medium. The level of craft on a project ultimately says something about the creation itself." W.E.T. Studios' notoriety is due to Mead's singular commitment to maintaining a high level of craft. "With commercial reproduction, attention to detail is based on retaining the integrity of the reproduction." It is W.E.T. Studios' high level of craft that sets it apart from other commercial airbrush enterprises.

From the start, Mead learned that high standards combined with rapid production were the key to establishing and maintaing a desirable and lucrative business. With Mead and his studio's vast experience, the challenging processes involved with undertaking major projects will be applied to diverse future contracts in an ever-growing business.

What impressed me most about Mead was his passion for his art. "All of us here (at W.E.T. Studios) have fun with what we are doing. This is not just for money but for enjoyment. Mead's love for the airbrush medium is reflected in his finely finished creation -- every job is an extension Mead's sincere enthusiasm. No wonder the move to a new studio space is a dream turned reality!

Catharine Clark is the owner of Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, and a freelance art writer and critic.