Marcel's Art: Man Eater

This is one of Marcel's more colorful creations, and with this deliciously deadly theme, that makes the painting oh-so-much-more disturbing.

***Before you continue reading, make sure you click on the photo of the painting to enlarge it and take a closer look - you don't want to miss the little details.***

A flood, or tidal wave, of bright blue water is sweeping people off of a hued cliff, straight into the sticky grips of giant, flesh-eating plants. At first, it's hard for me to think of this scene as a tragedy. The bright, rainbow colors of the plants and the tiny stick-figures somehow make me think of gummy bears....yum! The whole painting is like a person, with the water as a hand, tossing a handful of treats into the mouth (plants).

Sure, there are people stuck to giant plants, but the colors make me think of innocent childhood toys - like yellow rubber duckies - and my fear is forgotten.

Then I take a closer look at the bottom of the painting and I get a little nauseous when I notice the blood. Some of the falling people missed the plants to land skewered on ominous black stakes protruding from the ground...no colors here, except for the blood that lets you know they really are dead.

When I look up at the plants again, the red looks suspiciously like blood. The thought that that red is not a part of the plant - but is actually blood streaming from the people stuck in the plants - chases away any illusions of lollipops and cotton candy I may have had. I had thought these people had a chance to escape still, and that if there are man-eating plants, they would work slowly - because they have no teeth, you see, only digestive juices. The suddenness of the realization that this might not be the case gives me the creeps, but then I notice that there are people hanging from the flower, stuck to the red - so it is a part of the flower, and not a shower of blood. Whew!! What a roller coaster ride.

As an afterthought I realize that of course the red is the flower: A flesh-eating plant wouldn't let all that blood go to waste - it would want to collect it and drink it down.

TIME OUT FOR A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: There are many plants in the world that eat meat. Most are found in wet areas, where water carries away many of the nutrients plants need to grow, so they have adapted to find other ways to get their minerals. But don't worry, none of them are big enough to eat you. Actually, you are way more dangerous to carnivorous plants than they are to you. Wetland areas (which also act as natural water filters) are quickly being destroyed by human development, and the popularity of some of these plants means that the species have been decimated to answer to that demand.

In Man Eater we see water and plants working together to defeat a common enemy.

Hmm, maybe the painting should have been titled 'Revenge of the Wetlands'.

...or possibly 'Candyland Mountain'...?!

If you have any better ideas, let me know.

Also, we've got a special treat today, a word from Marcel himself. He requested I make the following addition to the description of Into The Void in the last post:

"The winged entities are also suffering, for they were meant to be together but can't (much like in the movie HANCOCK). They are blind so they can't see each other; they have grown talons so they can't touch each other; and their vocal chords produce nothing but gurgles and screeches. Enraged by their unfulfilled love, they take it out on the un-demonized souls. :)"

...in case you were wondering.

Marcel's Art: INTO THE VOID

This painting by Marcel was commissioned by a friend of mine, Sammie Sleevi. If I recall correctly, she wanted something bleak, composed of black and white (to match her decor), and a fair amount of morbidity. Marcel's answer was the world depicted here in Into The Void.

At first glance, maybe you think the winged creature hovering in the foreground is some kind of angel. After all, like most depictions of angels it has human limbs and proportions, plus the necessary wings. But if this was ever an angel, at this point is has long since fallen from grace. Its wings are tar-smeared black and waft the sickly-smell of what's left of its decomposing body into the air. Chunks of flesh are missing to expose a rib, an entire pelvis. It's face is a mask of indistinguishable features, and its fingers have warped into long talons.

The creature puts those talons to good use: for this is hell, and the small amounts of red Marcel allowed himself to place in the painting (if you can find them) must surely be human blood.

Somewhere in the dirty-white void of nothingness that is these creatures' domain, there is a deep dark pit. A massive tree grows on its precipice, it's roots burrowing deep into the the sides of the hole. How deep it is- what goes on inside- nobody knows. But it must be much worse than what awaits the humans on the surface, for they keep trying to climb out, scaling the tree's roots in a futile attempt to escape. The humans scuttle out of the hole, hoping to sneak past the creatures and reach the nothingness beyond, because surely that must be better than what they endure on the inside.

But the creatures will have none of that - no one has ever escaped. They are efficient guardians, and nobody gets past. Their massive wings carry them in circles around the hole, and if any human manages to reach the top, within moments he or she will be airborne, seeing the talons they have been impaled with and and are being carried on before they actually notice the pain - it all happens so fast.

Then they are tossed back into the hole whence they came from, screaming, falling - who knows how far.

Or, if the creatures are so inclined, they feast on the bodies, wrapping any bloody remains in cocoons of tar and feathers that keep them preserved and hanging in the tree for later. Leftovers. A snack.

But that's not all...for if this is hell, then the humans are already dead and cannot die a second time. They remain conscious, wrapped up and immobile in a tree. With every passing brush of wings, with every hint of airborne decay that passes their nostrils, they fear that their time on the surface is over. For as much as they don't like being eaten (who would?), it is nothing compared with the terror they must face deep within the hole. Only something so terrible it is beyond our imagination could send them up to the surface and certain capture, welcoming the angelic embrace of the void's dark creatures.

Millenium Art Fest Part 2

This vivid sculptured painting is by Rolley Bateman III. Unfortunately, what did not come across in the picture is that the trees are in 3D. They appear to be made from plaster applied directly onto the canvas, then painted, to create a multi-dimensional effect. Very cool - and Bateman's tent gave away bookmarks featuring a painting and info on the back, instead of just a regular old card. Most of his paintings feature a tree or trees as the main subject: His winter, nighttime, moonlight paintings are my faves - although I have to admit that the vivid greens of the summer scenes are stunning and fresh, and the reds in the autumn ones to the best job at showcasing the 3D sculptural effect.


Sorry for the glare - please do your best to ignore it. This is a framed photograph from Amanda L. Murphy's "It's the kid in me!" series. There's something so colorful and pure about these little dinosaurs gathered for a meal that makes me feel all cozy and warm inside. The simplicity brings me back to a time where life was less complicated. Look at those little goldfish! And that T-Rex has an oreo in his mouth...no way is he eatin' any people anytime soon. And don't miss Murphy's "Photo Collage" collection - it's got an equally compelling, yet completely different vibe.



I'm glad the qualities of the amber show here manage to come across in the photo. Antoni Kozlowski had some of the largest pieces of amber I've ever seen crafted into jewelry. He also had some impressive cameo pieces I was unfortunately unable to photograph. Amber is best suited for intaglio cameos, where a 3D image is carved into the underside of the piece (rather than out of the top of the piece, as in the more common relief cameo), with some areas filled in with cream/white to provide extra definition, creating a look that suggest the image is trapped in the amber - if you've never seen one before, here's an example. Mr. Kozlowski does not have a website, but he is based in Michigan and you can reach him at (248) 650-3148.



And I am incredibly impressed by this beautiful window! How do you work with so many pieces and materials and turn it into such a cohesive whole? It was created by Alison's Stained Glass - by Alison, I presume. You will find peacocks make recurring appearances in her work; they are an ideal subject for this technique and they are stunning. Yet my favorite of her current panels is the "Square Tree" you can see on her site. I want that for my house!

Drooling over the Eastside Millennium Art Fest - Part 1

I was totally blown away by all the talent at the Millennium Art Fest this year.
I noticed some tents up on my way to work this morning, and decided to investigate on my lunch break - and I definitely wish I had more than a hour to meander throughout the various exhibits.
If I'm going to start wishing though, I might as well wish for a thousand - hell - MILLION dollar shopping spree for me and my friends at the fest.
A girl can dream.


These earrings by Annmarie Siegel are made from pieces of disassembled pocked watches. Think of all the hidden meaning! And her work is not just for the ladies. I almost wish I was a guy just so I could wear the cuff links feature on her site. Worth a look!


Upgrade from your pet rock to your pet copper and stone sculpture. These cuties by Janet & Stacy have way more personality.


Look at all that color!! But these portraits by Cathee A. Clausen are so lifelike (unfortunately her web page appears to be under construction for now).
Indeed.


Notice the wide bracelet/band in this photo? THAT's what has my heart among these pieces. So hardcore. It's called a Lucky Band and is made by Andremi Designs . It's hand-tooled leather with wire inserts so you can bend and mold it as you please (perfect for my stubborn anorexic wrists). The various bands in this collection feature stones like serpentine, obsidian, sodalite, and aragonite.

Part 2 coming up later...!

Marcel's Art: Opus palladianum

You're looking at the only one of Marcel's paintings with this mosaic-like quality (although I would like him to pursue it further - so far that has not happened).

People have seem many different images in the geometric patterns of Robot Hump Mountain - so I think it's best if I just let Marcel hint at the theme he was illustrating and let you come to your own conclusions. Here it is in a poem, straight from Marcel to you:

"The petals of the sun curl as their last drop of moisture is obliterated,
by the very heat they live to create, this heat of friction,
of massive stony protrusions moving, rubbing, living.
And as the leaves attempt to cradle the other, more intrude upon their space, leaving no room for privacy, no room for being!"

**As for the painting's title, I'd like to think that there's a clue in there as well. But that's not how I see it, and if you know Marcel, you know it's equally likely that it's just a trick to throw you off.

"Take that. I owe you nothing anymore."

Salvador Dalí claim that's what he said to his father as he handed him a condom full of his own sperm. He had just been thrown out of his home and told never to return.

Weird.

I doubt this is true. Who carries around used condoms in their pockets, thinking that surely "THIS would be the day I need one of these on hand"?

Then again, Dalí was no ordinary man. He was imaginative and capable enough to come up with this zinger of a comeback on the spot, and strange enough to have the necessary supplies. The eccentric guy believed he was the reincarnation of his dead brother and underwent an exorcism later in life (and I'm not saying these two are necessarily related), and that's just the beginning.

He was born 105 years ago this week. If you don't feel like reading his entire autobiography, which I'm sure is fascinating, check out this collection of images to satisfy your daily requirement for the bizarre.

I really like the explosion coming out of his mouth (they should use this in anti-smoking ads somehow), am very confused by the levitating dwarf, and LOVE the one where he's shown kicking at a woman's body whose limbs are flying off, as if in zero gravity. I've seen this happen in a number of his paintings, but never before had I imagined a catalyst other than spontaneous combustion. Plus, it seems so adorably childish: like a little brother impishly toppling his sister's just-finished tower of building blocks. Or it's misogynistic, if you think he looks angry and is kicking that poor woman into pieces.

Nice.

"You are quiet, I will be, too"

Ten years of research by German historians has cast a shadow of doubt on the long accepted story of Vincent Van Gogh cutting off his own ear. Apparently, fellow artist Gauguin chopped it off! Read the story here.

I'm not sure what's more dramatic: Van Gogh meticulously removing his own ear with a little razor as he begins his descent into madness - OR - his friend, whether purposefully or not, slicing off his ear while they were bickering, then cowardly running away and inventing the story of Van Gogh's self-mutilation. Van Gogh didn't sell out his buddy, who would have probably gone to jail. But he was left lonelier (and more bitter?) than ever and on his way to his later suicide.

For now everyone still agrees that he wrapped the severed ear in cloth and gave it to a prostitute.

Well, at least we still have that.