Incredible And Innovative Art

Contemporary art can often be repetitive and unimaginative. Smearing gesso and white paint on a canvas (no matter how skillfully applied), and calling it "The Absence of Something #404" is not terribly innovative. Piling rusting "found objects" onto a modern art gallery floor as a "social commentary on our disposable consumerism...blah blah...yawn...blah blah", is a lazy explanation for re-purposing junk into junk, while making curators and wealthy collectors extremely happy.

Sometimes one has to know where to look to discover that contemporary art is far from dead, but thriving not so quietly around the world.

Reminiscent of old natural art history illustrations, artist Victor Stankovic cloned cephalopods with insects and created a new species on paper. His on-line animated GIF version only adds to the charm.

Cephalopodoptera by Vladimir Stankovic

This is Vladimir Stankovic's series Cephalopodoptera.

Engineer and sculptor Jonty Hurwitz created an innovative new approach to what Dali achieved without the aid of modern technology. The sculptures reveal their true shape in a reflective surface.

Frogs Are Endangered by Jonti Hurwitz

More can be found at Jontyhurwitz.com

Artist Liu Bolin provides a truly thought-provoking social commentary of a society, where individuals are invisible. His disappearance act uses painstakingly applied paint only.

By Liu Bolin

More of his photographs can be viewed at Thisiscolossal.com

I will see you in a few hours.

The Visual Journal

As children, we draw and paint without giving any conscious thought to composition, materials or color theory.  Looking at some of my childhood creations, I see the unrestrained freedom of mixed media; collages, cutouts, stickers, crayolas and markers mixed with watercolors and found and flattened ephemera. If it could be glued down, I apparently did.  I created comic books, game boards and experimented with pop-up books.

While some stop drawing and creating altogether, my artistic endeavors became "serious". In my spare time, I studied the old masters, realism, art movements and focused on sketching and painting images inspired by the natural world.

At times prolific, at other times other interests took over, but I have always tried to keep some connection to the artistic needs of my right hemisphere. When lack of time prevented me from planning and executing completed paintings, I was restricted to sketching and doodling. Then I discovered the visual journals of Peter Beard; raw, visceral, sometimes graphic, yet always authentic.  I was familiar with his wildlife photography, but I had never seen a grown-up version of creating for the sake of creating with his childlike abandon.

Image by Peter Beard

Image by Peter Beard

Peter Beard's natural studio

I was fascinated and inspired by his journals and began combining writing journals with sketches, found images, paint and markers, without thinking about the end-product or attempting to create "art". It was liberating and allowed me to continue creating, when I had little time to devote to anything artistic.

Visual journals are not a new invention, they have been described as notebooks, field books, visual diaries, scrapbooks and recently resurfaced as "art journals". What they offer in their various guises are infinite possibilities to experiment, observe and explore the world around us and within us.  They require no artistic skill, art supplies or time-commitment. They are not restricted to subject matter or creating a work of art and can contain anything from mundane to-do lists to deep thoughts.  Eventually, they will add up to represent ones life, guiding memories through visual imagery.

I highly recommend them.

Deprived Cinephile

Summertime triggers fond memories of going to the movies and the anticipatory excitement I used to feel as a child and teen.  Back in my time, which was yesterday, there was a period where I had what seemed like unlimited access to University and Repertory theaters.  They showed the gems of film making, many foreign and art house, where the emphasis lay on telling great stories through a visual medium.

It was in those theaters that I first experienced the dark comedy "Delicatessen" by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, discovered the theatrical and disturbing vision of Peter Greenaway, watched and marveled at Ridley Scott's "Alien" and "Blade Runner", craved "The Scent of Green Papaya" or traveled through Italy with the quirky protagonist of "Caro Diario".

Repertory cinemas, where fellow film aficionados sit in respectful silence have been closing. The foreign film section appears to be getting smaller and I do not think I have watched a movie about an artist since "Pollock". As a fellow cinephile friend of mine often states: "They just don't make them anymore".

If you have any unique or original movies to recommend please do.

Within the current trend of CGI and remakes of remakes, "Immortals" looks original and visually interesting. Directed by Tarsem (who also directed The Cell) and starring Mickey Rourke as Hyperion. It may not be deep and profound, but I am hoping for at least some geekcitement.

Creativity Rules

I came across this and had to share it with dreamers, builders, innovators and creators.

I am curious, what do you create, build, take apart, improve on, make, upcycle or DIY (Destroy It Yourself)?

Renewal

Spring 2011

Old-growth forest

The annual migration of this Homo sapiens is triggered by a compelling instinct to gather field sketching supplies, some food, a thermos and escape from the man-made to the nature-made.

Forests are my destination of choice, one of the places where cerebral hemispheres can feel whole again; allowed to act as one, to observe, sense, marvel, wonder, imagine and create.  Away from the incessant chatter and noise of humanity, the urban grey of cities of concrete, there is an immediate sense of calm and welcome noise.

I can hear my footsteps, crunching on leaves and twigs. I can hear the sudden silence as I pass by flocks of birds chatting in their natural skyscrapers. I pause. After a while, they resume their conversations.  A rush of excited calm as I watch nature's builders using natural materials to build their homes.  Amused, I wonder about their decision making process. What are birds thinking when they build and weave their nests? This twig goes here. Or is it trial and error?  Does this twig go here? I see nests woven into branches, precariously close to the very tip to avoid even the most agile predators. How do they remain there? How is that special branch picked? Do they assess sway and give?  Yearly construction of the impossible, without tools. Birds, one of nature's evolutionary architects and engineers.

I settle on a spot, arrange my supplies; paints, brushes, pens and pencils. A warm up with quick sketches and studies. Time and memory are no longer perceived. My lungs are learning to breathe deeply again, while my mind is focused on color, shape and perspective. The weight of thoughts is quickly discarded.

I will return, but nothing rivals that first renewal of the year.

Sightseeing With An Artist. What do you see?

What do you see?

A street in Grottaglie, Italy.  Look closer...(Click on images for an even closer look).

The High Life

An English Heritage Property at Belsay Hall, Newcastle.

On closer inspection:

Relics

Sightseeing in Grottaglie, Italy.

It's a hot day.

Wet 'n' Wild

Late for work? Rushed to leave the house?

A Close Shave

Lost and looking for directions?

Tundra

Feel like demonstrating?

Riot

Meeting Nessie

Fantastic Voyage

Painting en plain air at the Crystal Palace, London

Antscape Painting

Slinkachu is a street artist living in London, UK.  In 2006, he started the Little People Project.  He places his miniature installations in various cities, photographs them and then leaves them for people to discover.  An artistic social commentary on the isolation and alienation that people can experience in the concrete grey of urban environments.  Clever, at times poignant, ironic and humorous. His work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions and his first book was released in 2008.  According to Slinkachu himself, he "just wanted to make people smile". Since he has been making me and many others smile for years, I believe that he has accomplished his goal.

Slinkachu's blog can be found at Little People, a tiny street art project, on which he posts and updates his installations. Prints of his photographs can be viewed and purchased at the Andipa Gallery.