A Beautiful Failure: The Tragic—And Luminous—Life of Jim Harvey (An Experiment in Narrative Theology)

J Sage Elwell

doi:10.3390/rel13030235

Abstract

Jim Harvey was the artist who created the Brillo box that Andy Warhol copied and made famous. Warhol’s Brillo Boxes changed the course of art history and the entire field of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Meanwhile, Jim Harvey died a failed second-generation Abstract Expressionist. To his death, Harvey refused to accept that his Brillo box was a work of art. However, the theory—the story—that was woven about Warhol’s Brillo Boxes transformed them from commonplace objects into multimillion-dollar masterpieces. As a counterbalance, this article appeals to narrative theology as a way to tell Jim Harvey’s story. Appealing to narrative theologian James McClendon’s notion that a biography can reveal an image—a metaphor—that serves as a prism through which that individual’s life can be seen and understood, this article suggests that the defining metaphor of Jim’s life was “artists are prophets”. Importantly, this essay is not an attempt to redeem Harvey’s artistry, although it may provoke a reconsideration of his work. Rather, it is an exploration of the tragic and luminous life of a beautiful failure.

Highlights

Beautiful Failure: The Tragic—AndIn Beyond the Brillo Box the philosopher and art critic Arthur Danto quipped, “The original designer of the Brillo box of those years, James Harvey, was a failed secondgeneration Abstract Expressionist who went into commercial art as a pis aller [last resort]”(Danto 1992, p. 154)
To end at the beginning, the art critic Arthur Danto disparaged Jim as “failed second-generation abstract expressionist” (Danto 1992, p. 154), 36 years after Warhol’s Brillo. Box show when he was asked about underrated artists, Danto replied, “Another forgotten artist is James Harvey, the man who created the Brillo box that Warhol copied
He was going to have a brilliant career as an Abstract Expressionist but died in his early 30s

Summary

Introduction

In Beyond the Brillo Box the philosopher and art critic Arthur Danto quipped, “The original designer of the Brillo box of those years, James Harvey, was a failed secondgeneration Abstract Expressionist who went into commercial art as a pis aller [last resort]”. Jim Harvey created one of the most iconic works of modern art, and yet died an artistic failure He was only 36 years old, and on his death bed, he refused to acknowledge that his Brillo box was a work of art (Harvey 2017). Warhol’s box was, at best, an example of excellent design work, and at worst, nothing short of a defilement of the sanctity of art Jim dedicated his entire life and the whole of his being to art. He went on to study drawing and painting at the Art Institute of Chicago Upon graduation he moved back to Detroit where he worked at a department store for a year just to earn enough money to move to New York City to pursue his dream of being a working artist. This is the story of the tragic, yet luminous life of Jim Harvey, a beautiful failure, recounted as an experiment in narrative theology

Narrative Theology

Preface to the Story of Jim Harvey

A Beautiful Failure

Conclusions