Paul Steven Knotter

1952 - 2019

May 3, 1952 - September 6, 2019
Pop artist Paul Knotter created art that was clever and full of paradox. Like himself, it was irreverent yet optimistic. Paul died at his home in Los Angeles of complications from multiple sclerosis on September 6, 2019. He was 67. A memorial and art show was held in his honor on November 9.
In the 1980s and early '90s, Paul wowed and charmed the L.A. art scene with his unconventional approach to painting and video art, and his funny, insightful commentary on postmodernism. Los Angeles Times art critic Cathy Curtis wrote: ""Paul Knotter is a cynic with a great sense of humor. Looking at the weird assortment of cultural trash he deifies as painting, you have to suspect that he considers civilization to be a marvelous trash heap of ideas-encased-in-products and art a kind of mental archeological dig."" Pulitzer prize winning critic Christopher Knight wrote: ""Knotter's is the aesthetics of appropriation gone berserk, a playful phantasmagoria of Magritte-like dreams come true.""
Paul was born in Globe, Arizona, on May 3, 1952 and raised in Phoenix. His mother was a nurse and his father was a Presbyterian minister. Bored with high school, he dropped out to go on the road with his older brother David's rock n' roll band. Eventually he took his GED and earned a BFA from Arizona State University, then earned an MFA in Photography from UCLA in 1979. During his studies he was mentored by renowned artist and professor Robert Heinecken. Paul received the UCLA Art Department's Alfred Orselli Memorial Award and was twice awarded the UCLA Art Council's Anna Bing Arnold Award. Early in his career he was championed by Joni Gordon, who nurtured contemporary LA artists at her iconic Newspace Gallery in Hollywood. His paintings were acquired by galleries around the world as well as numerous private collectors.
Paul worked as a creative director with prestigious marketing firms, producing films and live theatrical events. He also produced films for large-scale entertainment projects, including Michael Jackson's HIStory Tour, the Benefit Tours for The International Red Cross, and The Nelson Mandela Children's Foundation. He collaborated on entertainment installations for The Fremont Street Experience and Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Paul was lifelong friends with members of ""The Tubes,"" one of America's most influential musical groups, helping to create their innovative production design.
One of Paul's greatest inspirations as an artist was Italian culture, and on his many trips to Italy with family and friends he truly lived ""La Dolce Vita."" His mischievous nature and total inability to be self-conscious defined his hilarious wit and personality. Though MS diminished his physical mobility over time, he never lost his creativity or passion for art, and found great satisfaction by encouraging and supporting aspiring artists. Paul exhibited immense courage and enthusiasm for life throughout his illness, emanating kindness, joy, humor, and an enlightened spirit.
Paul is survived by his wife of 26 years, Loredana Palivoda, his mother Anne Knotter, his sister Michele Mellott, his brothers David and Ted Knotter, four nieces and three nephews, and numerous cousins.
Paul once said of himself, ""I am a thing that makes things."" As an artist and as a person he was much more. He elevated the ordinary to the transcendent and will be profoundly missed by his adoring friends and family. His work can be found at KnotterSpace.com.