Steven F. Arnold was a visionary artist, born on May 18, 1943, in Oakland, California, to a seamstress mother and a hardware clerk father. At a young age, he discovered his uncle's theatrical costumes and makeup in the attic, which sparked his passion for transformation. He would spend hours dressing up and putting on shows for his friends and family, with the encouragement of his parents.
Arnold's artistic talents were nurtured by his high school art teacher, Violet Chew, who introduced him to antique and junk shopping, art history, cutting-edge fashion, and Eastern spiritual traditions. This exposure had a lasting impact on Arnold's philosophy and art.
After graduating from high school, Arnold won a full scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute, where he studied filmmaking and later took a break to study abroad in Paris. He returned to San Francisco and resumed his studies, focusing on filmmaking and eventually creating his critically acclaimed student film, "Messages, Messages."
Arnold's film was a huge success, and he went on to curate a rare collection of early surrealist films and launch the Nocturnal Dreamshows, a weekly midnight movie showcase that became popular in the 1970s. He also began illustrating posters for local businesses and was among the original group of rock poster artists in San Francisco.
In the 1970s, Arnold began filming "Luminous Procuress," which won him the 1972 New Director's award at the San Francisco International Film Festival and an extended exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Salvador Dali was so impressed with the film that he invited Arnold to study with him in Spain, where he helped Dali embellish and inaugurate his Museo-Teatro Dali.
In the 1980s, Arnold found his niche as a photographer, designing and shooting tableau vivants for four books and establishing his Los Angeles photography studio and west-coast salon, Zanzibar. He also began translating his sketches into paintings and assemblage sculpture.
Arnold's works are held in the collections of several major museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Despite his untimely death in 1994, Arnold's artistic legacy continues to be celebrated and exhibited worldwide.
