Capilano Canyon River

All three paintings are oil on canvas, 24" x 30"

Looking at the robots, I think

David Lewandowski, going to the store



Robot maker Azusa Amino recently won the Robot Japan 2 Dance competition with his 23-centimeter-high Toko Toko Maru robot. 


- they are the un-ego, the dream of letting go of the source. They are a life whose source is the non-live, whose origin is not identical, so a different, non-human causality comes into place. The source, here, is the source-code. And that makes all the difference. Saying it is matter brought to life explains nothing. Think, rather, of metamorphosis, of alchemy, of things becoming not-themselves. (Of us becoming not-ourselves). The robot is not a robot if it remains the sum of its parts. It is a robot when it does something it is not supposed to do - when we see it as inhabiting itself. (It - who?, we ask, excitedly). They are our hope for the unexpected: if we can control everything, and the result is somethig more than what we were making, then there is no everything.
And we can dream on.

ERICH SOKOL'S PRELIMINARY SKETCHES

I have previously written about my admiration for illustrator / cartoonist Erich Sokol, whose brilliant work appeared in Playboy Magazine.  A collection of his work recently published by Residenzverlag includes some of his preliminary studies.

Napoleon (preliminary study)

Napoleon  (finished version)

Sokol does not wait until the final image to worry about good design and composition.  They are present in the very first small fragments.

Note how strongly Sokol locates this sketch on the page...

 ...or how he starts out early identifying and then emphasizing the rhythm and harmony of the human forms:

Like many other  artists, Sokol's building blocks contain the DNA of a finished artistic statement.

No matter how small or incomplete, details and fragments such as these can encompass the artist's  genetic code and are well worth our attention.

Sitting on the Fence - Locked Gate Artist Riding on the Locked Gate Bike of Indecision

Here is a guy Artist Stephen Williams who took the term "sitting on a fence" literally with his whimsical creation, a bike made from two antique locked gates called "The Locked Gate". Williams admits that even though his masterpieces may be considered brilliant are far from practical but make the most of the funny side of his weird and wonderful imagination. In my opinion life was made just a tad more brilliant and sunny today through this wonderful and highly impractical fence art bike.Via Inhabitat

Locked Gate Art Bike - by Artist Stephen Williams

Locked Gate Art Bike - by Artist Stephen Williams

Locked Gate Art Bike - by Artist Stephen Williams

Bone Art Cars Discovered - The End is Near for the Combustion Engine

The end of fossil fuel will have a devastating effect on the combustion engine and the result will be millions of bone car remains frozen in time only to be discovered many years from now and placed into museums. Archaeologist will study these bone cars and wonder what these creatures looked like and whether or not they were gas or diesel powered. I am talking about these breath taking bone art cars were created by artist Jitish Kallat as part of the "India Contemporary" exhibition in the GEM Museum of Contemporary Art in The Hague, the Netherlands called Collindonthus. They were made with resin with remarkable detail in which they represent skeletal remains.You never know reality could be closer than you think.

Jitish Kallat’s bone Car - Bone Art Car by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

Jitish Kallat’s bone Car - Bone art car by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

Jitish Kallat’s bone Truck - Bone art truck by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

Jitish Kallat’s bone Truck - Bone Art Truck by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

Jitish Kallat’s bone Truck - Bone art truck by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

Jitish Kallat’s bone Truck - Bone art truck by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

Jitish Kallat’s bone thee wheeler - Boneart  three wheeler by Jitish Kalla as part of the India Contemporary exhibition.

All Image courtesy: Jitish KallatArticle Via

Star Wars Art Car STOLEN!!!!!!

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - Rear Side

I just got this sad story sent to me by Thomas you had his Star Wars artcar called Meerkat Six, a 1982 Diesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta stolen last May of 2010. He took inspiration from Star Wars Episode III Jedi Starfighter, the X-Wing Fighter, and the Rebel Blockade Runner but later realized that he had chosen the Snowspeeder's color scheme. The astromech droid was made from an old lampshade that had been in the "droid parts" box for twenty-odd years and named J3-T7. He also used two different fonts for the lettering, "Engli-Besh" by Erikstormtrooper, and "Imperial Code" by Dan Zadorozny at Iconian Fonts.The chances of it ever be seen again are very small but a replacement art car is in the works.

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - Front Side

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - Hood

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - JR-T7

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - JR-T7 at Night

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - Front Fender

Meerkat Six Star Wars 1981 Jetta Art Car - Rear Fender

Still Life

Faucet, acrylic on canvas panel, 12" x 16"
Brush & Mug, acrylic on canvas panel, 12" x 16"

Black Nude

Acrylic on canvas panel, 22" x 28"

THE SLAV EPIC

 

I spent the past week in Prague where I was working on the World Forum on Governance.  Away from my books and art materials, I resigned myself to skipping this week's post.

However, the cultural attache at the embassy shared with me the happy news that Alphonse Mucha's masterpiece, the Slav Epic, will go on display in Prague next year, just 84 years after Mucha donated it to the city.

For those who only know Mucha for his art nouveau posters, the Slav Epic was Mucha's most important and meaningful work: 20 huge patriotic murals of key moments from the history of the Slavic people.

Mucha posing in front of two of his murals

In times of trouble and uncertainty, Mucha "wanted to talk in my own way to the soul of the nation," reminding them of their proud heritage and the heroism and sacrifice of their ancestors.

The origin of the Slavic homeland around 200 - 300 AD: peaceful Slav farmers flee invading Goths (seen galloping away from the burning village with their loot).  As the young Adam and Eve of the Slavs escape, a holy man with outstretched arms implores the gods for mercy.

Mucha's reference photo for the holy man

"The Celebration of Svantovit: When Gods Are At War, Salvation Is In The Arts."  The earliest Slavic center of civilization from 700-900 AD was centered around the shrine of Svantovit (later destroyed by Danish warriors in the 12th century)  

The Introduction of the Slavonic Liturgy: Praise The Lord in Your Native Tongue 

"After the Battle of Grunwald: The Solidarity of the Northern Slavs." Here we see the first great defeat of the previously invincible Teutonic Knights, demonstrating the rising power of the Slavic empire. 

"After the Battle of Vitkov: God Represents Truth, Not Power"

"Peter Chelcicky at Vodnany: Do Not Repay Evil With Evil." A famous Slavic pacifist implores the victims of a Hussite raid not to become too caught up in revenge. 

"The Defense of Sziget by Nikola Zrinski: The Shield of Christendom"

Mucha presented his murals to the city of Prague in 1928, but some criticized them as old fashioned and nationalistic.  By 1933 the canvases were rolled up and placed in storage, and Mucha's hopes for his native land seemed farther and farther away.  In 1939 the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia and the gestapo arrested the aging artist.  He died shortly after his release.  The Slav Epic murals were stored away in a basement that flooded, damaging the paintings.  After many years, the canvases were retrieved and restored, and were put on display in 1968 in southern Moravia.  In 2012, these lovely works will return to Prague where they will be displayed with the honor and dignity they deserve.

"The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia: Work in Freedom is the Foundation of a State"

I think Mucha's accomplishment was an act of courage comparable to the accomplishments he was celebrating.  He put aside his commercially successful decorative art to make a lasting statement about the spirit of his country. He originally planned to make each painting approximately 20' x 26' but war, political repression and economic hardship repeatedly forced him to change his plans.  After his first few paintings, the Belgian factory which manufactured the oversized linen was occupied by the German army and converted to military use.  Mucha switched to painting on sailcloth from Scotland, and later was forced to reduce the size of the last murals.  Still, he persisted.  The Czech avant garde artistic community ridiculed his work as a "monstrosity of spurious artistic and allegorical pathos which, if exhibited permanently could harm the taste of the public."  His murals were nearly confiscated during World War I for their "Czech patriotic content" and he made plans to bury them in the woods to protect them.  The work was frowned upon by Nazis in World War II and by communist occupiers in the postwar era. 

Time and again, Mucha was presented with obstacles but he persisted and left behind an important work of art.

"Jan Amos Komensky: A Flicker of Hope."  A religious exile dies in his chair by the sea, looking out at eternity and thinking about returning to his beloved homeland.

NEW BOOK FROM STERLING HUNDLEY

Award winning illustrator Sterling Hundley has come out with a collection of his art, Blue Collar / White Collar.

The book melds Hundley's commercial illustration, his gallery art, and his thoughts on working "between the demands of  Blue Collar ethic and the ambitions of a White Collar aesthetic."
 

Readers may recall that I admire Hundley's talent, his enthusiasm for nurturing young artists, and his thoughtful efforts to adapt to the circumstances confronting a 21st century artist. Many illustrators talk about diversifying and selling "fine" art to gallery audiences, but Hundley is one who seems to have pulled it off.  I was pleased to be asked to write the introduction for his book.

 

This compact volume (6" x 9") includes revealing preliminary sketches for some of his better known works.

I recommend that you check it out.

The House

This house which is almost gone. Which still has the lines and weight of a house, yet could very well be called landscape. This house which is a set of floors engraved with memories that no one you know could ever read. Things, as people, come and go, yet we believe them to be different, we invest what is left of our faith in this space or that. It's what you think as you move the objects around, pretty damn self-conscious, pretty certain that this armchair in this place is pure iconoclasm. 

You'd rather it were a farm. You would prefer it to be pragmatic, and you would strive for it to be pure function, eliminating any sentiment, oiling the squeaking doors so the sound doesn't leave traces, cleaning the floor so there are no signatures. No time travels. 

Then you picture this farm, and somehow it's not so proper, the weather is muddy, or maybe that's the way it always looks, there are traces everywhere, things have a rhythm they will never ever retain, things have a rhythm they will never ever give up. It is your wildest dream, and this land is full of you, it does not allow you to leave. You seem to have been here long before you've ever pictured this place.

You move back, trying not to stare, so as not to keep any of this. Then you see the roof, its perfectly symmetrical form (it is not symmetric, but that is how you see it), its blissful abstraction. The way this alien form remains here. Now, yes, you can leave. You exit the picture, you go back to the house where the armchair is elsewhere, you walk out through the garden, and you take your hard-earned sight to another nest.

Nicholas McLeod, The Farm (2010)

‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protester Art Car for the 99%

It was only a matter of time but we now have an ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protester Art Car for the 99%. This Acura is completely covered in cartoons of unknown gender and race and speech bubbles that say "99%". Just like the OWS its completely abstract and hard to ascertain the main point, and with that it totally captures the essence of the OWS movement. Wonderful!!!

Painted Art Car for the 99%

Painted Art Car for the 99% Door

Painted Art Car for the 99% Door

Painted Art Car for the 99% Hood