Tuesday, June 30, 2009

David Lynch - "Paris Industry" 1980


8" x 5.5" gray-toned watercolor

Found this while digging around for Lynch related imagery. Dune came out in 1984 and The Elephant Man was released in 1980, to give perspective on where his head was at as a director when this artwork was made.

preparing chicken



Covered

my recent contribution the Covered blog...







http://coveredblog.blogspot.com/

Monday, June 29, 2009

Ivan Albright, All Right with Me

Poor Room-There Is No Time, No End, No Today, No Yesterday, No Tomorrow, Only the Forever, and Forever and Forever without End (The Window) (1942-63)

That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do (The Door) (1931-41)

Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida (1929-30) [note the "floating" handkerchief]

Three pieces by Ivan Albright, one of my favorite painters, whose "The Door" (above) is one of my very favorite paintings. Amazing, humbling stuff, in my opinion. Never had the privilege of seeing any in person, unfortunately. I suppose you can see the influence here on people like Joe Coleman (who I love) but Albright's work has its own sort of mystical ambiguity which I find really compelling and much more frightening than something like Coleman's murderous hobos or whatever. But that's probably not a sensible comparison... Any way, good stuff, skill beyond any normal human measure as far as I'm concerned.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Shirley Bellinger


My new replacement for my personal art blog is...
Here

Touch It


Friday, June 26, 2009

Notes on Art and Life

Here's a piece of converstation and some ideas that went through my head a couple years ago. I'm posting some of the old things I would write down in my sketch books about art and life.

From a converstation with a friend:

'It's only art if it sells.' I remember you saying that. That's bullshit. Because the world changes and so does the definition of art. In today's society, true art is what does not sell, and you cannot buy it.'

Conclusion:

It is on days like this one, that a silence comes over me. It's hard to say what brings it on. Sometimes it's the weather, other times it's a failed attempt at art. I noticed that the older one gets, and the longer one's been in the game of creation, the failed attempts are in reality a coming to face with one's own incapabilities. Issues that one cannot over come by one's nature. On the other hand, it can also be a realization of one's own age and things that have been unaccomplished. Regardless, on days such as this, I am silent- not willing to utter a word or make another promise. It's a day of bitter conclusions.

Dying Space:

I do little walks around Center City while I'm on my break from work. I love looking at different apartments and buildings, usually thinking how it would feel living in one of them. What would it be like listening to one of my favorite records, in that cool modern interior? But today, there was a slightly different thought in my head as I was looking at the insides. I thought to myself it would be nice to actually die in that sort of environment. Surrounded by good architecture, solid design, a general feeling of security; instead of a place that is a reflection of one's own demise. (That is if the person was to die in the slums, or the apartment that I live in now.) All the imperfection and the decay just adding to the probable feeling of nausea that accompanies death. So in case one cannot secure a preferable place of passing for himself, a faster way (such as by a cab, or out the window) is indeed advisable.

It's always hard for me to post stuff like this. I always have a fear of sounding "self-important" or too personal. But all these verbal exchanges on the blog lately, has made me a bit braver. I used to wirte a lot more but about a year ago I kinda stopped writting, both on my blog and in my sketchbooks.

Light (entertainment) Relief

Skip the lame intro and go to 1.08 to see a charming variety act from the golden age of showbusiness.

Industrial Symphony, In Progress

Here's an early build of a digital piece I'm doing for a David Lynch art show in Georgia next month. This is taken from a scene in Lynch's "Industrial Symphony # 1" in which a giant skinned deer resembling a human on stilts walks near a club footed midget shining a light on it. It is a truly bizarre scene and something I will have fun adapting into an artwork. The final version will be in color, with the deer mostly in bloody reds and sized at 25 x 30 inches.

In and Out of Dimensions

Thursday, June 25, 2009

FOLLOW UP: How we doin?

Based on the comments on the "3 Years of EBD" post, it seems like a consensus has been reached: Let's invite some new blood into the fold. I figure the best way to go about it is to either a) Let everyone at it. If you have someone in mind, you're welcome to invite them on your own accord. Or b) Submit your picks for our approval through some kind of voting process.
I'm willing to go with a, personally. I think being more casual about it is more interesting, and we can avoid endless back and forths that come with group emails.
Either way though, members are free to participate in the new members process or not.

I'm really not interested in trying to come to a consensus on what kind of people we should invite. I think the most important things to consider are more to do with their dedication to what they're doing. Any other considerations are up to each of us, individually.

-I'd also be into inviting people that might be more into straight blogging; News, links, posts about art/artists, about comics, film, youtube videos, etc., I think that'd be a nice mix. I have no idea who'd be into that, of course. Any volunteers?

What do you guys think?

Tired old Manly Punker Cliches. or, does Lemmy get tired of being Lemmy?

space ork
I'm reminded of when the artist who did Zippy the Pinhead, what the hell is his name, Bill Griffith, wrote a tirade against Richard Corben & alot of the underground fantasy artists coming up that what they were doing wasn't underground, because it didn't deal with emasculated sexual frustrations & the dilemnas presented by wearing glasses or feeling uncomfortable in new jeans (my words, not his). I think RAGMAR (where is that dude?) spoke of this as well, about a piece of mine, about capturing the youthful enthusiasm for the heroic characters & the classic stories & loving all of the things that we loved before we decided that they were played out or somehow immature. This Space Ork embodies my youthful loves that have all come flooding back to me. The chainsword is speaking to me in particular these days. I'd love to have one.

Details







Wednesday, June 24, 2009

new inks " Remus III " & fatigue










I just go back from a week in Warsaw, which was a real breath of fresh air. I got a chance to pick up a new edition of -which is exquisite by the way- "God Emperor of Dune", my favorite book of all time. I also bought an awesome compilation of Moebius and a few more European comics, such as "Thorgal". For some time now, I have been suffering from a sort of fatigue when it comes to art-making. Of course I solider on, however some of the symptoms are reminiscent of those described by Luke on occasions. Ironically, I feel I have to push harder than ever. After all, I have been at this for 10 years. What comes to mind is the song by Blue Oyster Cult "Veterans of the Psychic Wars". The week of not drawing in Europe definitely did me some good, I hope. But the - I hope statement- is the sort of paranoia I have.










Skull Heads

Among other things, I've been workin on a bunch of odd skull heads. Fairly straight forward pen & ink one-shots on 5.5" x 8.5" paper. I'll probably slap them together in zine form at some point.

Standard Bullshit


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Geheimnis der Teufel

That's awesome that EBD is approaching three years of existence. I remember that piece about "the Young Nihilist" early on actually maybe making me afraid of this blog. My art weirdness goes in fairly conservative directions. There are alot of themes i will not touch... it's not that i don't enjoy these explorations, it's just that i still see myself as a fairly mainstream commercial artist. For some reason. As far as direction of the Duck & its eating habits, i'd love to see some new blood. I'd love to see some more blood. I think this blog is doing fantastically & should keep on going forward. I am not suffering from any existentialist crises.
Geheimnis der Teufel
I'd say i'm having a productive period, but this has lasted me for six or seven years so i'll just say, i'm having alot of fun drawing right now. Just knocked out another 20 page Pipu comic as well. I'll post about that when it's printed.
bird goblin
I'm having a hard time remembering if i sold my soul to the devil while drinking absinthe & popping caffeine & codeine pills. It was an interesting period of time. Here's your photographical reference. I'm the craziest looking one. Anyhow, i'm pretty sure i didn't, because i couldn't convince myself that i actually believed in the devil, but at the same time, i was fucking with some serious shit.

Given that i don't currently have enormous squadrons of jack-booted thugs under my control, i'd say that i didn't sell my soul, because that was what i wanted in exchange. I'm fairly convinced i can still get my own squadrittis while keeping my soul intact anyhow. Just finished this piece for an interesting & timely project as well. All i can think about are the storable food ads on Alex Jones.
Apocalypse Punx Guide To Food Preservation

3 Years of EBD?

Almost three, that is. I just spent a few minutes trolling through our venerable archives; It's amazing and awesome to see how much we've all developed. Even the guys who seemed to be on a clear path from the get-go have progressed quite a bit.
Found a couple of gems, including this one. I'd forgotten about it completely...
By the way, the cartoonists' name was/is Aaron K.. I think he still does comics and recall coming across his livejournal a while back..Also think he might contribute to the Same Hat stuff.
Hope there's no bad blood.

Wondering in a general way about how you guys feel about the blog, where it should go, etc.,.

Also, David Paleo please come back!

Interview with Anne van der Linden

Nobody can avoid the radical in Anne van der Linden’s paintings; many also see the sentimental and peaceful dimensions of them. I’m seeking the human nature and tragedy that they are transcribing.
There are often contrasts between characters who are detached from the scenes depicted and those who are fully conscious and affected by them. This is the case in the painting where a child has his mouth and arsehole carved by the Alder king who also happens to be his father. The sadness on the face of the father who is teaching a lesson about life when the child seems blasé and bound by his flesh may be a profound statement about vice. This is tragic.
Also I respect very much that in Anne van der Linden’s paintings many different situations and relationships are present. The social patterns (gender, age, social class, lifestyles, sexual preferences etc…) aren’t always the same. When consumerism encourages people to define their identity so they can fit the market that has been designed for them, this multiplicity reminds us that we can face all the dimensions of our specie. The radical dimensions of these paintings work as a gargoyle: they protect something. Also Anne's paintings are sexy and hilarious!

Heavyshop: Anne van der Linden's website.

L: I’d like to know more about the different artistic directions you’ve explored… What were your different steps?

A: I started with improvised drawings, a mix of figures, symbols and abstract objects and lines, then I went to art school for 2 years and after that started a 3 or 4 year experiment with abstract painting. They were very thick, organic paintings, I tried to get away from consciousness and judgement in order to create a pure expression of inner feelings...well that was bullshit, I mean a deadlock for me which drove me close to depression, so after a 3 year break, I went back slowly to narrative art.

L: You wrote that your work was grotesque social pornography. Why? What should it mean? Is there something strategic in this term, something you believe in?

A: I cannot remember myself saying that, I should have said “obscenity” rather than “pornography”.
But truly there is something grotesque in my figures: they are so ambiguous, caught by a situation they don’t seem to belong to, assuming all the social codes while making them untidy, invaded by bestiality and at the same time so stiff and civilized. I think that this permanent contrast of order and disorder brings the sensation of social obscenity.





L: You’ve been involved in performances with Jean-Louis Costes? Could you describe these performances?
It was quite a long time ago, it was fun having a rock ’n roll band life style, touring and doing crazy things on stage, and a strange sensation of getting out of my body while I was acting, as if in a trance.

L: Any anecdotes or striking moments?

A: I got knocked in the face by a Swiss girl who came on stage while I was acting. After the show I went to get her and asked her why she did that, and her answer was “Did you see how they treated you on stage?” A feminist answer… Ha! Ha!






L: I have the feeling that many artists who’ve evolved in the same context as yours are quite reticent to comment about their work. What about you?

A: Commenting is something I need to do, it’s always an opportunity for me to clear my ideas, and put distance between myself and creation, that enables a renewed vision.
But it’s not so easy though. Sometimes the words are much lower than the image, just superfluous, or sometimes they kill the image! One has to find a way....I hope I do!!!



L: I guess that 90 percent of the « psychological interpretations » people want to make when they look at paintings are erroneous. When you have the opportunity to discuss your art, what sort of themes did the viewers questioned you about?

A: I don’t know, not that interesting in general... seems that most of the time viewers ask questions to themselves and not to me!
I don’t blame them but it’s just boring ... generally it’s about sex and taboos, things that they search for or, on the contrary, reject, or how I can live and assume such a type of art etc...
In general I believe that few people can look at a piece of art and penetrate its logic, only very sensitive persons can do that... or professional eyes...


L: What passes through your mind when you’re painting? What sort of correlation is there between what you’re representing and what you’re actually thinking? Any symbols? Signs?

A: I start from a drawing or a sketch, so while painting I first think about technical matters, how to build my image, the volumes, contrasts, colors and shape associations, so maybe what passes in my mind would be “sensitive thoughts”, how I feel my own body, the surrounding light (summer or winter light) etc...
Then while keeping working, an atmosphere takes place, that goes beyond the basic drawing and brings new emotions and references (dreams, other paintings, stories)...from that point the painting pulls me to it’s own meaning, and I have to possibly add the elements that it asks for..

L: Loads of your paintings are mise-en-scenes involving several characters, how do you construct the image? Do you improvise much?

A: I never improvise, it’s a long process, not so easy putting together all those characters, also I have no models as you can see.
So I have to draw and try first to build a choreography that I have only partly in mind at the beginning and which gets more precise while drawing, with the game of lines and shapes

L: In theses scenes maybe something both animalistic and ritual could be perceived?

A: Yes, it may be that: I am a lost and suffering animal in this world, and I demand with my art to the obscure forces that drive me to be favorable, not to hurt me.

L: Sometimes it seems that you’re taking the piss out of customs and lifestyles (I remember a painting depicting a woman shitting on a house and another one with a bride clasping a big phallus)…

A: Well...
Certainly I like to make things clear... married girls need eternal big dick rather than eternal big love... this can be a refreshing idea, and when I paint it I laugh !
But of course destroying the old statues brings chaos, who knows what will come out of it... We seek for order... then kill it...etc... then we have to find new models.
(One of the results of my having turned against old rules is my loneliness)


L: How do you perceive self portraits? Do you wish to keep distance with your art? I mean some artists want people to know that their art doesn’t show what they are, some don’t know what they are doing but afterwards want to understand something about themselves, and some try to express what seems to be blocked inside… Do you think you would fit in any of theses categories?

A: Hum! I can say for sure that my characters reassemble me, more or less, in terms of body structure... and the technique, one should pay attention to the way artists use their brushes for example: it is a language, a confidence by itself.
So this way, and avoiding private confessions, I can assert that my painting is me!!...the transcription of my body and soul.

L: Is it painful to paint?

A: No, very less than digging holes.




L: Is there something you want to say about your writings?

A: I read a lot but write very little, the last thing I wrote was “Je veux être ton singe” (I want to be your monkey) a short story that I illustrated... since then I’ve been quite locked.



L: Your videos?
A: I tried to put in action the themes of my paintings and it was fun, I did it with friends for the first one called “Le repassage” (the ironing), then for the 2 following, I collaborated with “professional” guys who tried to abuse me, and since then I haven’t done any movies again...
A good thing with painting is that you are the master of your world, you don’t need to deal with people

L: What are your projects for the future?


A: I’ve just made a book with the poet Jérôme Bertin, Voix editions.
I am having an exhibition in September in Lyon at the bookshop-gallery “Le bal des ardents”.
Then I’ll show 2 paintings in the big exhibition “De Clovis Trouille à Hervé di Rosa” at the museum Louis Selencq of l’Ile Adam,
Then a drawing exhibition in Lille this winter at the gallery “Une poussière dans l’oeil”.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Face Not Even A Mother Could Love!

Here's an in progress fragment from the previously mentioned American Werewolf In London artwork I'm doing. I think I mentioned that here anyway. Still needs a lot of polishing but it's a good start. It will be published in Electric Ant #2. The full artist list can be viewed here.

The original is going to be poster sized, something like 25 x 15 inches. So I'll be able to make really great looking giant prints of it.

New Uland Blog

http://ulandkrzyz.blogspot.com/

We'll see how long this one lasts...

Blogs are always trouble for me, as I'm skeptical of their use, or, more particularly, the various uses I get out of them. Without expounding too much, I'll just say that they can act as a psychic crutch for me.They make me feel like I'm doing something, and I start up with various strategies for doing it better. They tend to detract from what I think if in my more sober moments as the real world and what I'm actually doing in it. Blogs aren't a part of that real something.
But I'm a sucker for any opportunity to rant and blather on. It can help toward the communication of ideas, of course, and it's fun to interact ( yes, interact. Leave comments. tell me I'm wrong.) I'm just going to go forward with one eye on the reality meter, I hope.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ricochet



Here are two random pages from a comics for George

Saturday, June 20, 2009

New Batch

You can check these out in larger sizes at my Flickr .
I like these.

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