Anatomical Nightmares

Carebear Strikes Again!

2012-01-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

The last one of these was painted on a skateboard for a show in Atlanta. That's the only nice thing I have to say about it. This one is on a wood panel, and will be going in my living room. Unless you have a few hundred you'd like to give me for it... but I doubt it.

Tipsy

2012-01-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

tip·sy

adj \ˈtip-sē\

: unsteady, staggering, or foolish from the effects of liquor :fuddled

: unsteady, askew tipsy angle>

1.	Tipsy	1342 up, 113 down
	When you are slightly drunk.

for more on tipsy behavior, stumble to the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoysQe-2HS4

The Last of the Melville Pieces from Dick

2011-12-17T14:12:00.001-08:00

“It is not so curious, that so vast a being as the whale should see the world through so small an eye, and hear thunder through an ear which is smaller than a hare’s.”

“There is a certain mathematical symmetry in the sperm whale which the right whale sadly lacks.”

“Just because they were “superior wives” didn’t mean the island’s women were not without normal physical desires.”

Cape Cod Maritime Museum

2011-12-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

The Cape Cod Maritime Museum is home to bits of wreckage, bones, schrimshaw, and a workshop where members and volunteers can spend days restoring and creating vessels. For more information, visit http://www.capecodmaritimemuseum.org/.

The ribs from the Sparrow Hawk wreckage look strangely similar to those of the whales these ships hunted.

I'm crushing JFK's head!

The Root of Nantucket's Evil

2011-12-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

Taking the ferry from Hyannis, Ma to Nantucket is about a 2.5 hour ride. When you reach the shore of Nantucket, one of your first sites will be the small lighthouse on the edge, quickly followed by the heavily populated port.

Upon entry to the main hall of the museum, you'll find the skeleton of a small sperm whale hanging above a whaling boat used to hunt in the 19th century. This photo does not give a good sense of scale, but these creatures could average the length of 85 feet.

Guess what the think on the far right is for.

An assortment of stabbing tools of the trade.

In reality, Nantucket is a lot smaller that it looks.

More Dick

2011-12-04T11:55:00.001-08:00

“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit at thee.”

“…what landsman would have thought that beneath all that silence and placidity, the utmost monster of the seas was writhing and wrenching in agony!”

“Like a mob of young collegians, they are full of fight, fun, and wickedness, tumbling around the world at such a reckless, rollicking rate.”

“I. A fast whale fish belongs to the party fast to it.”

“II. A loose fish is fair game for anybody who can soonest catch it.”

The Dick you missed

2011-12-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

“There is one god that is lord over the earth, and one captain that is lord over the Pequod.”

“It was a terrific, most pitiable, and maddening site.”

“Death to the living, long life to the killers. Success tot sailor’s wives, and greasy luck to the whalers.”

“A wild, mystical, sympathetic feeling was in me; Ahab’s quenchless feud seemed mine.”

sold

“If you inventively regard almost any quadruped’s spine, you will be struck with the resemblance of its vertebrae to a strung necklace of dwarfed skulls.”

Dick: The Shirt

2011-10-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

The show is over, but there is plenty of dick to put on your chest. Shirts are available in sizes small, medium, large, and x-large.

A Story of Whaling and the United Sates?

2011-09-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

http://outofprintmag.com/2011/09/news/art/dick-a-story-of-whaling-and-the-united-sates

Dick:A Story of Whaling and the United States

2011-09-21T19:23:00.001-07:00

It wasn’t until the X-Files’ Scully drew the comparison of Mulder’s obsessive nature to Captain Ahab’s pursuit of the white whale, did I feel the need to read Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. With plenty of evenings to kill, I limited myself to two or three chapters per night to insure that I fully absorbed everything in Melville’s story. My evenings with Ahab and Ishmael became an obsession of it’s own as I began to draw parallels between the whaling industry of the 19^th century, the institutionalized slavery of Africans, and the modern day dependence on crude oil.

Moby Dick could be interpreted as America’s quest for dominance over nature, as well as inspiration for Richard Wright’s racial charged Native Son, but the strongest message to one could take away from Melville’s 1851 masterpiece is that Captain Ahab is a dick.

After many months of preparation, the illustrations of Melville's Moby Dick are ready for exhibition at Slingluff Gallery on October 1st, 2011. The Saturday night reception starts at 6pm, and will end at 9pm. Slingluff is located at 11 W. Girard Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19123. For more information about Slingluff and the show visit www.slingluffgallery.com.

Blunder Days Past

2011-08-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to Apple Jacks Studio and everyone who came out for the opening of The Blunder Years. If you forgot show up, had something better to do, or just didn't care, but for some reason read this blog anyway, here's what you missed. Shirts and decks are still available. For more information go to www.slapstikskateboards.bigcartel.com.

The Blunder Years

2011-07-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

On August 5th, 2011 Apple Jacks Studio will be hosting a Slapstik Skateboards retrospective of the original series of decks released between 2001 to 2006. In addition to the skateboards, original artwork pulled from the sketch pads of that time period will be displayed, along with reissues of 3 decks and 2 shirts. Signed decks will be $50 and shirts are sold in pairs for $30. It should be a lively evening, so bring some friends, something to drink and cash money because art shows don't get put on for nothing. Hope to see you there.

The Centaurs and Mermaids of Michael Hsuing

2011-06-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

On The Lithuanian Bear's Revenge Against The Sins

Of Sir Anthony of Tuscany

On A Scene In Which Two Talented Conjoined Men

Perform a Sacred Pose

Centaurs, mermen, and bears. Collecting oddities, "freelancing" when no one is around, and illustration for companies including Dr. Marten's, Dwindle, and others I can't recall at this time. Michael has recently been featured in Against the Grain's Featured Artist at www.hurley.com. But enough about the art. Michael can grow a mustache like nobody's business. It's too late to see the work at Slingluff Gallery, but I figured I should post this anyway.

Kathy's Kountry Kitchen

2011-06-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

This might be a bad idea, but for some strange reason I think it's funny enough to make. Expect t-shirts of this real soon for the Slapstik Skateboards retrospective show at Apple Jax Studio in Philadelphia this August.

I'm not a whore!

2011-06-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Out of Context

2011-05-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

So, I've got another new project called "Taken Out Of Context." The idea is to record what people say on the street when they believe no one is listening, and illustrate then in a different context. It's easy for me because I wasn't there it was said. The results can end up looking like this. I'm open to submissions, so if you hear anything wrongly funny, please pass it on.

More Fairy Tales And A Box To Put Them In

2011-05-09T18:57:00.001-07:00

Mother Goose & Brothers Grimm

2011-05-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wish I still had these booklets, but I can only hope they will make a little girl happy for years to come. These are the first editions of ink sketches for the Slapstik Skateboards Dark Ages series from 2009.

Russell Shoemaker- "It's Not Everything"

2011-05-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Russell Shoemaker "Beach" oil and spray paint on canvas

I recently attended an opening at Philadelphia's Slingluff Gallery hosting the works of Russell Shoemaker. Russell's show, entitled "It's Not Everything" successfully fused abstract and figurative oil painting in a way that made as much sense as abstract painting can. Russell spoke of his approach to painting an application of layers upon layers of oil until the desired image is achieved, or until he gets bored. There are points in his work where the flesh appears to be spread on the canvas with a butter knife, helping to compose sections where the figure's skin and clothing wants to fall right off. It could be described as a schizophrenic flashback from Robocop, but what I want to know is where do these girls get their bikinis?

W.T.F. #13

2011-04-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

I found this in a sketch pad from August of 2003. It was my first trip to New York and an introduction to Manhattan's World of Coke.

When Bears Can Fly

2011-02-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize how many girls I knew were in love with Care Bears until I started talking about this series of paintings called Grizzly Care Bears. This is only the first attempt at making it real, and if you're in Atlanta, you can see it in person for their Sk8 or Die show coming up at Young Blood on May the 7th. I hate to see it leave my home, but I'm sure someone will find it just as funny as I do.

Anchor Skateboards made in the USA

2010-12-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

Nha Trang, Vietnam is home of Paul Trihn, owner of Anchor Skateboards. Paul and I have been friends for longer than anyone could imagine, and have always tried to help each other out whenever asked. A few months ago I got a call from Paul asking me to do a board graphic for his shop. There were a few requirements for the image to include an anchor, and something resembling the water fronts of Vietnam. Easy enough. Until I tried painting it and realized I did not know how to paint waves to look like an etching. One month later I was able to put the brush down and deliver this. Thanks Paul for the opportunity to learn something new.

Stillborn at Young Blood's Day of the Dead Art Show

2010-10-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

Stillborn 2010

This and dozens of other coffins will be for sale at Young Blood Gallery on October 30th. Nothing priced over $500, and after working on this thing, that's a deal.

i made a deathstar

2010-09-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

it's about the size of a tennis ball.

Lohan

2010-08-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Electric Fronts

2010-08-23T06:34:00.001-07:00

Give your electrical outlets a new grill.

Rib Removal

2010-07-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

Sunken Ribs watercolor and graphite on bristol 19"x24" 2010

googled image included in upper right corner

Dreams of Perkinss

2010-07-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

Long Term Upper Fullness graphite and watercolor on bristol 2010

You can do this at home by printing a picture of your breast, cutting out the breast, then turning them upside down, and reattaching them to your chest. It's easier than reversing gravity.

It's a Bra

2010-07-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

Self-Medicated Relief graphite and watercolor on bristol 2010

Natural

2010-06-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Natural graphite and watercolor on bristol 19"x24"

Flirt

2010-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Flesh...more, or less

2010-05-09T16:26:00.001-07:00

The Cinching, graphite and watercolor on paper 18"x24"

Some Tails are Bigger Than Others

2010-04-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Exit Skateshop will be holding their 3rd Deckheads skateboard art show May 7th, 2010. If you're in, or near Philly....go. Maybe I'll see you there. Image research for the deck involved whales tails, and Moby Dick. If you don't know what a whale tail is, google it. It's kind of funny.

Chicks?

2010-04-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

"Bath Time" ink on bristol 2010

They told me the theme of the show was "puppies, kittens, and chicks."

I thought they said "tricks."

Bowling a 138

2010-03-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

If you've ever tried to paint on fake leather, you know it's a pain in the ass. Second time's the charm.

You're invited...

2010-02-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

I found these wedding invitations after digging through some folders stacked up in my studio. I don't practice calligraphy too much, and would like to more often, but I think this was a good start. Hmmm. that sounds a bit cocky.

Eleanor

2010-01-11T15:22:00.001-08:00

Up Close and Personal

2010-01-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

after painting others for years, i figured it was time to turn the brush on myself. this started off as an ode to chuck close, whose exhibit i discovered in chicago in the summer of 1998. after a few sketches, i noticed that was pretty lame and it needed more. i toyed around with fish circling my head, but once i asked myself "if i lived in the ocean, would i really be a flounder? no. let's see what shark jaws look framing me. well, that's better. much like a shark in the ocean, you know what you're going to get when you meet me after talking to me for 15 minutes." my words have a way of cutting people to the bone. but you knew it was coming. truth is not naturally evil. it only hurts when you're accustomed to the comforting pillow fights of lies. so, that's me. and this is me as well. look for me at the museum of fine art in columbia, south carolina.

w.t.f. #8

2010-01-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

What the fudge?

2009-11-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

2003 was a good year, but only as far as the art went. I'm pretty sure a lot of unpleasant things happened that year as well because without the crap, I can't make anything good. This was my first attempt at making a comic strip of my life, which led to me thinking about drawing these horrible moments while they were happening.

The Art of Darkness

2009-11-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

nothing more to say

kiddy pool

Push skateshop in Ashville, North Carolina curated a show last month called The Art of Darkness which consisted of skateboards cut in half to make tombstones. Artist were then allowed to create a stone of their liking using the boards as a canvas for their resting place. Darkness opened on the 16th of October, and closed on November 3rd. Posted in this entry is the grave marker entitled " Nothing More to Say." This took about one week to complete, along with an additional drawing submitted or the show. For the lack of time I had to produce the works, I'm pleased with the results.

http://www.pushtoyproject.com/

2009-11-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

"She whipped them all soundly, and sent them to be."

"... and they kept going deeper and deeper into the forest. If help did not arrive soon, they were bound to perish of hunger and exhaustion."

"She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed. For they left their tails behind them."

"Little Betty Blue lost her holiday shoe... What can Little Betty do?"

If you can't make it to Bridgeport, CT by December, here's what you're missing. Of course, you're also missing out on Naughti Dolphin pizza and three newer drawings of mine. So, do what you gotta do.

Too Bad To Be True

2009-10-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Bone Tails show from Little Berlin, well, my portion of it anyway, will be headed to Bridgeport, CT this November for a solo exhibit called Too Bad To Be True. The opening is scheduled for November 6th and will include drawings from the "Dark Ages" series of upcoming Slapstik graphics, along with three new drawings of Brothers Grimm fairy tales illustrated in contemporary settings. Stories include Hansel and Gretel, The Old Lady in the Shoe, Little Bo Peep, Little Betty Blue, Humpty Dumpty, Snow White, and Cinderella. For anyone in the area, passing through, or just curious to see what Bridgeport is like, stop by on Nov. 6th and check out the shop at 605 Brewster St. Bridgeport, CT. Bring a friend, or 3. It will make gas a lot cheaper.

dayoneskateshop.com

Cut it, if you're into that sort of thing.

2009-09-30T22:44:00.001-07:00

Another show, another month of sleepless nights. Make it worth my time and show up to at least complain about how I'm not working hard enough.

You know you won G. Won what? The wet T-shirt contest MF!

2009-08-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

this one's mine.

Studio 27.28 located on Girard Ave. recently relocated to 11 W. Girard Ave. and changed the space name to Slingluff. I have no idea what that means, but the location works in every aspect... except for my birdhouse. The previous location was a bit sketchy, and one wouldn't be too surprised at the sound of gun shots. I thought it would be funny to have my bird fall prey to the bullets of and angry fly-by shooter. This joke did not go over so well at the new location, but I still laughed. A few other memorable birdhouses are posted on this entry as well, but I neglected to get the artist's names. Well, maybe they have a blog, and can promote themselves.

Better Not Bring Your Kids

2009-08-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Insults vol. 1

Shit Talker

Fuckface

Bitch

Asshole

One show just isn't enough for me in the month of August. In addition to the Bone Tail exhibit at Little Berlin, I've also got six new paintings showing in the Rittenhouse district of Philadelphia at Square Peg Artery and Salvage. The series of paintings, titled Insults, are oils on wood panels, housed in leather spin clamshell boxes. Works in the show include Asshole, Bitch, Dickhead, Cuntface, Shit Talker, and Fuckface. As you can probably tell by the titles, it's not for kids. Two of the paintings have been posted on this site before, so included in this posting are a few more.

Darkness MF, Darkness!

2009-08-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Shame on you for missing this one! Last night marked the opening of Bone Tail at Philadelphia's Little Berlin. Four artist, Salvador Cerceo, Dennis McNett, Shawn Beeks, and Damon Aners, came together under the curator Tyler Kline to present paintings, prints, video and sculpture which delve into the dark recesses of our minds. Focusing on myths and fables, the artist involved used new media and traditional visual arts practices to bring life to timeless psychological and social conflicts, presenting them in a contemporary context. But be warned... everyone involved brought their darkness to the table and bet the full house. The show runs through August 30th at Little Berlin, located at 119 West Montgomery, Philadelphia PA 19122. Gallery hours are Saturdays from 12 to 5pm. For additional images go to littleberlin.org.

Drive By's on Girard

2009-06-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

Slingfluff Gallery presents Bigfoot, and Group Bird House Show featuring 30 National and International Artist, including me. Formerly known as Studio 27.28, the folks at Slingfluff will be hosting their opening at 11W. Girard Ave., spitting distance from The M Room and Johnny Brenda's. The event takes place July 11th with a silent auction from 6 to 9pm. 40% of all proceeds go to the PSPCA to prevent more birds from senseless shootings and such. This is my first showing of anything with Slingfluff, so help me celebrate by telling them how much you like, have a beer, and buy something under the influence. Hope to see you there.

Gates of Hell

2009-05-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I hadn't posted this earlier. This is the product of a summer spent trying to make "abstract" art under the influence of professors at UArts. Over the course of June, July, and August, I completed two paintings. I'm actually afraid to post the other one, but whenever I delve into my subconscious and let the composition flow, it still comes out dark. Hopefully, what you see when you close you're eyes isn't as screwed up as what's painted behind my eyelids.

People are Sheep

2009-05-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

By 1998 I'd been living in Athens long enough to be thoroughly educated and disgusted with most of college life. The self destructive behavior, passed off as "finding oneself," manifested in binge drinking, drug use, casual sex, and weekend parties, moved me towards isolation amongst my peers. Skateboarding and art served as my escape from my surroundings, without which I could have gotten involved in something cultish like church. Luckily I didn't, and put all my thoughts and energy of the moment on a skateboard for a few people to see. Everything I had to say was written directly on the board, which was a first for me. Previously, I'd felt that if someone didn't understand why I did something questionable, they could at least confront me about it, but in this case I didn't want there to be any confusion. People are sheep. I believe I had watched Taxi Driver an unhealthy amount of times before completing this drawing which is why it's so dark. It's been years since I've read this, but I still believe that most people will willingly screw themselves out of a future to avoid the present.

Barcode

2009-04-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

1997 was the year I had an opportunity to go to London for a week and test the European market for raped inc. At this time I had just released the barcode graphic which was the first full color design for raped inc. The drawing was inspired by conversations with others about consumerism, Orson Wells, and the Mike Leigh film Naked, which I highly recommend. I was happy with the simple design which visualized the of application of the creative arts practice to an economic brand. What I like most about this one is the concept of "revenge rape" that art enacts on business by turning a graphic soulless symbol into an artistic statement against capitalism.

Somebody's Watching You

2009-04-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

This board marked another series of first for raped inc. Although I continued with the war theme, I decided to use a black and white pallet again to enforce the cold feeling of being watched. The image was taken from a book at the UGA library on events leading up to WWII. I'm not sure exactly what the image is because I lost the notes, but the original covered only 66% of the deck. In order to make a functional layout I had to create the another 3 buildings and wall to cover the entire right side. I was enrolled in an American art history class focusing on Architecture making it easier to complete the buildings in a manner that matched the time period. At the time I also wanted to use ink on transparency instead of paper, forcing me to spend more time on the details of the board graphics. I was also living on my own, so I had plenty of time to draw. All the time spent researching and drawing paid off to produce one of my favorite graphics of the raped inc. line. I had also stopped using the same graphic for every shape because sales had actually grown. This was the last board to have raped inc. written out, to be replaced by the "r" logo.

Rejection Letters

2009-04-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is why I have problems getting art shows.

artWORK

2009-04-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Something a lot of people don't realize is the amount of work it takes to make artwork. Galleries, museums, and especially entertainment give viewers the impression that art seems to magically appear on the canvas, paper, or clay, like some materialized drug induced vision. Ideas may come about this way, but that would lead me to discuss conceptual art, which is an entirely different story. My point is, it takes a lot of work to get from the idea, to the product and that's were the work comes in. Writers have to go through multiple drafts before submitting a version worthy of publication. Artists must do the same through research, sketches, studies, and failed attempts of full-size models. The amount of time, consumed by mental and physical exertion, is usually reflected in the price of the art, along with payment for name recognition, but what I'm focusing on is the work related to the art being viewed, not past achievements. Perhaps viewers would get a better understanding of the value of art if elements of the practice were included in the exhibit. This may destroy the illusion that art comes from divine inspiration, thus making the artist as mortal as everyone else, but to be blunt, they are. If you shoot an artist in the head, it will die. The major differences between artists and patrons lies in the artist's ability to look at ordinary things with an attentive eye, rather than gloss over the daily obstacles, interpreted as annoyances by the masses. Here are a few examples of watercolor studies made to better understand the zombie interpretation of St. Sebastian. Enjoy the vision.

RKO, Skin & Bones sampler

2009-04-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

He's Alive, source Caravaggio

Valezquez Cramps

Skinbar Study, source Waterhouse

Sexy Beast, source, too many to name.

For those who couldn't make it to the opening, I've posted a few watercolor pieces from the retrospective, along with some let out of the show. All of these were made around the same time period when I focused my studio practice on painting the master's works as the undead, or monsters. They materials used included cold press paper, watercolors, and the uniball micro pen. I'll post more, such as the studies for St. Sebastian in the next few days.

2009-03-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the economic downturn, I'm inviting everyone to RKO Video and South Philly Comics for the opening of Gods & Monsters, a collection of my work from University of the Arts. In addition to the drawings and paintings on display, I will will also have skateboards, shirts, and pins. No prints will be for sale, with the exception of the Kids series, because I don't believe in them. If you like the art enough, you'll buy it. Besides, I'm making it all very affordable. Hope to see you there.

Google It

2009-03-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested in juvenile criminal justice in the cyber age, look into the Victoria Lindsay case from 2008 that took place in Polk County, Florida. I spent eight months researching the criminals and victims of cyber-bullying and found that youth of tomorrow will no doubt resemble the paranoid science-fiction of today. The motives involved in cyber crime usually include, a desire of fame and mastery, both of which contributed to the downfall of Lindsay. Posted are images from my Masters Thesis Exhibition at University of the Arts from December 2008. If you think I'm crazy for believing our lives will be handed over to machines, google it.

2009-03-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

With the economy in the crapper, I've been searching for some older work to post related to my thoughts about capitalism. I found a few that I produced onto skateboards in the 1990's under raped inc. Luckily, I also found my noted for this graphic as well. "Always keep the originals of your artwork. Always make a copy. Always send the copy to production in case something goes wrong. The climb of the cooperate ladder created many problems, most difficult being the loss of the original artwork that I foolishly sent to the printer where it was misplaced. In hindsight, it would have been worthwhile to redraw the bodies entirely, but as luck would have it I only mailed the background stock market numbers. If I had the chance to do this over again, I would have drawn the bodies directly onto the newspaper. At this point (2000), raped inc. was losing it's fire, and rather than make a meaningless graphic, I decided to end it after 12 boards and five years. I had grown tired of debating with people about how irresponsible I was for using the word raped for "commercial profit and other nonsense." Besides, I had said everything I wanted to with raped inc. and wanted to do something different. The inspiration for the composition of bodies came from Gericaut's The Raft of Medusa, 1819.

Slapstik of the Living Dead

2009-01-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

After thirteen years of making skateboards, three of those years devoted to skateboards with zombies, I've decided to move on. I've haven't moved away from skateboards, but I am moving towards illustrating Mother Goose fairy tales, Greek Mythology, and the Brothers Grimm. See here are the remaining Slapstik of the Living Dead products left in stock. I've got a few Slit Throat shirts, about 4 Living Dead Television decks, and 1o Jesus Zombie decks. 5 of the Jesus decks are available signed. Everything else only gets touched by me. Sorry. Otherwise the Jesus decks wouldn't be special. If you like it, let me know. If you don't, wait until I do mythology.

2009-01-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

My second year of grad school at University of the Arts I took a course focusing on diaspora . The class was a once in a lifetime experience...to say the least. As an African American artist, I've never felt pressured to make "black" art, until this class. There have been times when my decisions and interest were questioned by others as unfamiliar to "black" behavior, but anything I've done was a reflection of myself. Not an attempt to be black, white, popular, or different. If anything, I've been consistently honest with my art. This body of work is called skin. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Stephanie Dorfman

2009-01-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm done with school I can finally concentrate on painting for fun, and money. Painting my friends seemed like a good starting place, for fun, which will hopefully lead to painting strangers, for money. The work shown at my MFA thesis exhibition got me an extension on the watercolors to be shown at the Urban Outfitters space at the Naval Yard in Philadelphia, Pa. Hopefully things will continue to grow.

Stephanie Dorfman watercolor on paper 8"x9"

raped inc. skateboards

2009-01-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

In 1996 I decided to ignore the better marketing judgement of my peers and started raped inc. skateboards. For the next five years I rarely held back my opinions on politics, social issues, free market capitalism, and religion. Above are the majority of the stickers made between 1996 and 2001. The only one that's missing from my collection says "raped inc. not sold here" which were generally placed on the windows and doors of skateshops that declined to sell my products. I'll post the board graphics soon to give you a better idea why the company wasn't received well.

2008-11-19T20:18:00.000-08:00

December 13th I'll be done with school. At least being a student. One thing I've learned over the past three years is that you can learn to do so much with so little, and somehow talk your way out of having to do more. The image above is taken from a photo of Kayla Hassell and Brittini Hardcastle, two girls from the Victoria Lindsay beating case in Polk County, Florida. If you haven't heard of them, don't feel bad. A few months ago they, along with four other girls and two boys, were all over the news and youtube because the Sheriff posted the beating footage to warn parents of teenage bully behavior. I never needed a video to inform me about bullies, but the sheriff felt it was necessary. Anyway, the girls were know, for a while, and then slowly started to disappear into the sea of irrelevant sound bites and clips that pass for news. So, if you're wondering why the painting looks unfinished, you just read the answer. Images of sensational news fade and are immediately replaced by new stories even more sensational than the last. By the December 13th, you won't even know what I'm talking about, but for now, don't these girls just look precious?

2008-09-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Have you ever moved into a new home and found what looks like forgotten evidence from a crime scene? I haven't either, and my imagination never leads me into the direction that I could be next, but I'm sure it's fun to pretend someone's out to get me. Even more fun that I'm out to get someone else. So, if you ever wanted to "off" someone like a sloppy murderer, decorate your house like so just to freak out your guest.

2008-09-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Before getting accepted to grad school, I made a series of hand painted skateboards to build up my portfolio. You may notice a running theme in the series, but if not it won't matter. If you knew me and what was going on in my life around 2005, the message is pretty clear. The paintings are oil on used skateboards. I wanted used boards because painting on a smooth surface would not reflect the damaged surface of the images and issues they illustrate. From left to right the titles are Do not Touch, Jealous Again, Nothing Works Around Here, The Hand that Feed, and Untitled.

2008-08-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

When I'm not making or writing about art, I'm making conservational clamshell boxes for rare books. It's actually a lot more interesting than it sounds. I must say that you haven't lived until you've handled a first edition english printing of Kafka's Metamophosis, or papers from the first session of congress. Of course the downside is you refuse to buy books that are not first edition, or at least in mint condition. On the bright side anytime you screw up measuring a book resulting in a box too big or small, you can always slap a painting in it. As a long time fan of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I thought it would be fun to update Alice's mirror to a laptop computer. The computer screen becoming our mirror is something I've been researching for months and will be writing about soon.

What a Difference Hot Press Makes

2008-08-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

For the past three years I have been using watercolors to make sketches for oil and casein paintings. Over that time my practice with the medium has paid off. Gradually, the dependence of pencil and ink lines to convey the details in portraits and figures has decreased and been replaced by smaller brush strokes, and patience. The latest addition to improvements in my watercolors has been an upgrade in the paper. Previously, I had exclusively used Canson cold press blocks of paper. The texture is a little rough, but nothing that bothered me for the years I used it. This past August I wanted to try something different, so I picked up a block of Arches 140lb hot press paper. Words escape me in trying to describe the difference between the two. You could say it's like having years of ache and waking up with a complexion as smooth as a baby's butt. The image on top is painted on cold press, and the one on the bottom is painted on hot press.

Parallel Lives

2008-08-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have presently taken on painting everyone I know. This may take a while, but using watercolors will make it a lot easier. This is Chris Hall. I've known him for most of my adult life. Funny thing about Chris is the course his life and mine share. We went to the same high school, the same undergrad, and come December, both of us will have MFA's in painting from schools in Philadelphia. The only bad part is, when his luck is bad, so is mine. And no, we are not related, nor do we ever talk about shrimp.

We Are The Dead; How Horror Came To Life

2008-07-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

I had planned to spend the semester researching horror cinema figures like zombies, and vampires because I believe they reflect social unrest and taboos in American history. But before I could even get through writing my proposal it was clear that I had little interest in vampires, an undeniable hunger for more information about the evolution of the zombie from the slow walking flesh eaters of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, to the rapid blood spitting Londoners of 28 Days Later. My goal was to establish links between the actions and thoughts of the living dead and undead, and those of the living popular culture. The first step was to compare the consumption habits of the living with those of the undead.

Zombies, those known to American audience, eat living human flesh. According to Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide, they will also eat animals, but if given the choice, will always go for a living person. The appetite of a zombie knows no bounds. So, if you or I were to engage in an eating contest with a zombie, we would not stand a chance because their bodies don’t function under the same laws as our. They will eat until there is nothing else to eat.
This never ending desire to consume is similar to that of capitalism. Capitalism presents itself as a system in which everyone gets a fair chance to succeed, but the element that drives capitalism is greed. Greed is what makes you want the biggest slice of pizza, or the nicest house on the block, or the fastest car even though many of these things are well beyond your means to obtain them. So in order to get these things in addition to food and a place to lay our head, we go to work. This is where it gets dark.
Work, according to Karl Marx is basically a man exchanging his life for something he will never have so long as he is working. Happiness. Once you buy into the glamorized lives that corporations try to sell you, you become part of the advertising process yourself. Many believe that it is a fair exchange to go to work for 8 or 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, to help their boss make more in a day than they will in a week. But the reward makes it all worthwhile. The problem is, the reward is just a product of someone else’s 45 hour work week that goes not into their pocket, but their bosses. In this context, capitalism not only feeds on the living, just like zombies, but also creates more capitalist without even having to work, because the first one to buy and wear its product will convince someone else that they should do the same.
The majority of these points are illustrated the films including the first zombie flick Victor Harperlin’s White Zombie staring Bela Lugosi released in 1932, and decades later in Shaun of the Dead by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, released in 2004. Both films have zombies who threaten the live of the living, but it is the living who pose more of a threat on people than anyone else. Lead characters in Shaun of the dead could easily survive the outbreak if they would simply cooperate with each other and think of the good of the whole, rather than the good of the individual. Those in White Zombie could have avoided involvement with the voodoo priest Murder Legendre if lusting after another man’s wife didn’t lead to selfish acts on the part of Beaumont, an already wealthy plantation owner who always seems to want more.
These movies tend to work in circles as well. Anyone you see in the opening montages, or first few minutes of these films, will most likely be the living dead by the half way mark doing the same things they did in life, only a little bit slower, and covered with blood. This consuming cycle very apparent in 1978’s Dawn of the Dead. Romero’s sequel of sorts to 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, brings the lead characters to a mall. Amidst the sea of fur coats, guns, designer clothes, jewel, and other expensive luxuries, Romero places the living in an environment where endless consumption comes natural for people, while undead inside appear to stumble around like they’re window shopping, waiting for the next big deal. Choosing a mall was no coincidence. The public was spending more time shopping and finding themselves more in tune with a pair of running shoes than their neighbor. Similar attitudes were felt in the postmodern movement by Haim Stienbach who expressed that “shopping had replaced art making as the ultimate act of self expression. “He went to say that “the department store had become the cathedral of postmodern desire and the act of shopping was the postmodern version of democratic choice.” If this was true then there was no difference between the living and the undead. And why should there be? Everything that is fears or hated about the undead, is within us all. People sometimes don’t know when to stop. People also have a tendency to choose the easier path, which usually ends in going nowhere fast. And last but not least, people have a tendency to be selfish, with primarily their best interest in mind.
All of which brings me to the subject of my final paper, how the horrors of Night of the Living Dead could not have been possible with the horrors of the Vietnam War. The United States was involved in Vietnamese activity years before the fabled Gulf of Tonkin incident in which LBJ publicly accused the North Vietnamese of attacking a U.S. destroyer. This of course was untrue, but was enough to convince congress that attacking North Vietnam was the right thing to do in the name of freedom and democracy. If any of this sounds familiar, it just gets better. The president got a lot of help from the media in creating a support the troops rally by keeping families at home informed of the progress being made in Vietnam and how the U.S. was winning the casualty war. This time period became known as the Living Room War.
Started in mid-1965 with the Vietnam War, and became known as the “Living Room War,” labeled by Michael Arlen, and refers to the activity of families being able to watch an active war from a safe distance, and commercials. The scheduling for news programs during the late 1960’s goes as follows. First, is the Battlefield Round-up, known to journalist as the “Five O’Clock follies,” followed by policy briefings from Washington, and closing with a film report. In the beginning, programs focused on “American Boys in Action, emphasizing their bravery and skill.” Visuals of blood and guts were kept to a minimum because networks did not want to offend their audiences with the true “horror of war.” The small amount of combat footage shown consisted of smoke clouds in the aftermath of bombings. Essentially, Americans believed everything the television said for years, and protests against the war were considered unpatriotic. The best thing to do was to “stay the course” because America was doing the right thing. As the years went by, soldiers started coming back, and things in Vietnam were not going as well as the public assumed. We weren’t winning, and the decision to draft young men who weren’t treated fairly by democracy in their own country were forced to fight for a hypocrisy in another, only made things worse.
Aside from similarities to the current operation in Iraq and soon Iran, the plot of Night follows the chain of events almost perfectly. The dead come back to life and start to kill, and the government, LBJ, refuses to give a clear answer as to what caused it. Before people are given a chance to figure things out on their own, news stations begin broadcasting instructions for how to survive the attack, but avoid telling anyone why it is happening. Local authorities assure the public that everything will be taken care of in a short time, and that the living would prevail. Anyone protesting the television is insulted, and told again that the television is right. As attempts are made to follow the instructions given by the television, more lives are lost and people start to realize that their better off thinking things through on their own. I won’t give away the ending if you haven’t already seen this, but I will say that it’s ending is very similar to that of the Vietnam Wars.
These films would not be possible if it weren’t for a very real belief in zombification from Haiti and West Africa. Haitian’s in the 17 century didn’t fear dying, but coming back from the dead to work in a foreign land with no reward, forever. It’s not zombification, but slavery they are speaking of, and it is just as real as a draft. The Haitian’s fear of never dying was used to control them by the wealth and those with the knowledge of drugs necessary to make one a zombie. Crossing the wrong person could make you very ill, and placed in a trance giving everyone the impression that you’ve died. After burial, your body is exhumed and placed under the control of the houngon who poisoned you in the first place. If you’re lucky to get out this situation, either by the death of the houngon, or salt, you’ll be free, but brain damaged.

2008-06-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

He's everybody's friend, but nobody knows him. His face is recognizable to most users of the virtual community Myspace as he is the first profile to befriend you. His name is Tom, and from my personal experience, that's all I know about him. It's strange that a complete stranger to millions is their friend at the same time. In now way am I suggesting that Tom's face will become an iconography portrait like the Mona Lisa, but it's not impossible.

2008-05-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

This painting was a product of several mediums I have little experience in. The idea came from watching a commercial for the Hollywood movie about Vermeer and studying zombification, The Philadelphia Zombie Crawl of 2006, and liquid latex. This was by far my most successful of the zombie series. Costume Jewelry combines the digital photographs taken from the Zombie Crawl and superimposing those wounds onto Vermeer's painting. I'm not sure how the final composition came to be, but learning the basics of horror make-up and Vermeer's color palette definitely guided me towards an excellently exhumed grave.

2008-04-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything because of changes made in the medium. Specifically, changing from oils to casein. It's taken me a little while to get used to it, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Casein is a very versatile medium which can behave like acrylic, oils, water color, and egg tempera. The stuff is just weird and I'm still trying to figure it out. Here is the first painting I done using it. The image is taken from Gustave Caillebotte's The Floor-Scrapers in 1875. I've always enjoyed looking at art depicting the physical strains of manual labor because much of the work pictured in these paintings are no longer done by hand. Thanks to technological progress we can rent a sander from Home depot and refinish a floor in a fraction of the time it too to do the same job 130 years ago. So, I'm guessing in another 130 years there will be a machine to paint for me.

Lonely Lisa

2008-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

This piece was part of a series of paintings concentrating on reinterpreting well known works of art in the context of the undead. I chose Di Vinci's Mona Lisa because I wanted to visualize a psychological zombie rather than the blood splattered, flesh eaters I typically do. The painting is a blend of images found with Google searches for Mona Lisa, and nose bleeds. The short version of the story behind the painting is this, Lisa's got a drug problem. I feel the same way about Atlanta, which is why I submitted it for an art show in Atlanta. I'm sure that some people thought she just got beat up, or had a migraine head ache, but could just be a viewer in denial. This isn't the first time I'd used visual references from the internet to create art. I think the web is a good source, so long as you can use what's already there to make something new.

Share Croppers

2008-03-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Les Glaneuses (The Gleaners) by François Millet, 1857
Gleaning is picking for field scraps undertaken by the poor. It faded out of existence as a result of the efficient industrial revolution. The Gleaners was attacked by some for its depiction of the rural poor, either as a reminder of class division, or grotesque realism, which has no place in fine art. There is always room for the unattractive in art. Millet’s painting has been interpreted as a protest to the systematic extermination of the poor. If you think about it, the economically disenfranchised are already dead to the capitalist. Maybe not dead, by undead since they can still be employed as unskilled labor. Think about that the next time you watch Shaun of the Dead.

Do It Yourself

2008-03-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

I was asked by my friend Scott to draw up a board graphic for his company Boulevard. He said I could draw anything I wanted, so I asked if he was sure because apparently, I don't know where to draw the line. He said it was o.k. and I made him pay for it. While coming up with concepts for this project, I was already working on the seven deadly sins as told through the life of Christ. So I asked myself, How hard would it be to crucify yourself? I thought it was funny. He didn't. Nor did he think it would be a good image to sell in the Bible Belt. I actually came up with the idea a long time ago when I still lived in Atlanta. I showed the rough sketch to a few people and they thought it was great. Of course, anyone who liked it lived in poverty. So, nothing has changed. The board never got made because religion has ties to economics. Societies have convinced the poor to stay poor and not complain about injustices because class division maintains structure within that society. And the poor voice their complaints to their white jesus, instead of their white president in hopes of receiving treasures in heaven rather than useful things here on earth. Anyway, the person responsible for Jesus' crucifixion was himself, not the Jews.

Under the Influence of Posada

2008-03-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

I spent a semester studying propaganda and art, specifically the Mexican Muralist Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros. What prompted me to read about this artistic movement was a statement made by Rivera claiming that "if you are not an artist making propaganda, you are not an artist." I won't get into my issues with Rivera at this moment, because what I want to focus on is possibly the greatest artist from Mexico, Jose Guadalupe Posada.

I'm sure that anyone with a taste for margaritas on Cinco De Mayo has seen his work plastered all over the local taco bar. His skeletons are drawing in a style of his own, and he was not afraid to use them to criticize the politicians of the early 20th century. I'm mentioning this because propaganda and art are related, but can exist apart from each other. The semester spent on propaganda was also dedicated to painting portraits of friends and family based on how I remembered them, as opposed to how they wished to be viewed. In other words, the sitter in portraits traditionally propagates themselves to help create a flattering image for the canvas. Parade of the Dead takes this relationship between the sitter and painter, and reverses the roles of propagandist and audience. Here I have painted my friend as a float among a day of the dead parade. Why? She can't watch horror movies because she lives in the woods by herself. Completely understandable, and unforgettable. Funny thing is, I have an easier time remembering her fears than I do remembering her face.

Skin Bar

2007-12-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hylas and the Nymphs 1896 John William Waterhouse

When the ship of the Argonauts reached the island of Cios, Hylas, the young and handsome companion of Hercules, was sent ashore in search of water. He discovered a fountain, but the nymphs of the place were so enchanted by his beauty that they pulled him to the depths of their watery abode, and in spite of the cries of Hercules which made the shores reverberate with the name Hylas, the young man was never seen again. What happened to Hylas is unknown...especially because none of this ever happened, but that's besides the point. He probably got lured into some she-devil trap and had his life force sucked dry by the topless demons. If you ever find yourself at some swank resort looking for a glass of water and come across a pool of naked ladies, don't stop to ask for directions, just keep going or you'll end up like Hylas. I've always loved Waterhouse and the stories behind the paintings are a big part of the reason why. Copying this painting gave me the opportunity to learn different techniques for underpainting with vibrant colors that shine through the darker tones laid on top.

Night of the Living Goya

2007-12-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

I'm skipping ahead here a bit to get to my semester studying the undead. Zombies. Basically, I spent months watching George Romero films and classics like I Walked With A Zombie and White Zombie, read a few books on the subject, Book of the Dead, Passage of Darkness, The Undead and Philosophy, and Pretend We're Dead, and then I got to paint zombie versions of masterpiece paintings by Goya and Vermeer. I have to tell you, this was the most fun I had teaching myself anything. The first posting from this semester is Night of the Living Goya, an oil on wood panel measuring 18"x24". The original is nasty enough, so I really had to take the gore up as best as I could. The hardest part was probably matching the colors Goya used to make this cannibalism pretty. My professors asked me why I wanted to do this. Honestly, because it was fun. There are more intellectual reasons for researching zombies like the similarities between post tramatic stress disorder, Hatian zombification, and slavery, but I'll save that for later. For now, enjoy the undead.

Conceptual rap and urinals

2007-11-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

As promised, I've finally posted my paper on conceptual art and rap music. I can't say that it is an enjoyable read, but the similarities are surprising.

“This Guy’s a Big Phony”

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. This is something I’ve believed for most of my life and quite often experienced on a very personal level. There are times when the fiction becomes more entertaining than the truth, which is why we have tabloids and politicians. As entertaining and far fetched as fiction may be, there is usually some method behind that madness. In the cases of Duchamp’s Fountain the line between fact and fiction was blurred when he presented a urinal to the public and called it a fountain in 1917. That line was blurred again by a different kind of artist known as a rapper, or MC, in the late 20th century when stories about trials of poverty became glorified tales of drive-bys and non-stop coke parties. The transformation of fact to fiction, or representational to conceptual, was possible because of changes made in context and content through the different methods of presentation and re-interpretation.
The method in which an audience is presented with art has an effect on how the artwork is interpreted. In the case of Fountain, Duchamp chose “an institutional setting” to make his statement protesting the constraints of painting and traditional arts in1917. While other members of the exhibiting jury found it insulting to display manufactured plumbing as art simply because it was deemed art by the artist, those who came to view Fountain found it to be beautiful and full of aesthetic value. Of course this was not the response Duchamp had hoped for, but not an unusual reaction of “high society.” It is quite possible that the patrons of the arts had become just a bored with painting as Duchamp was, and were waiting for something new to happen. It is also possible these same people were willing to accept anything that was given to them by an artist, fearful that speaking out against art could cause negative criticism from their peers. It is not unusual for works of art that protest the popular movements of the time, be celebrated later by the same people who shunned them, as evident with John Latham’s Art and Culture which “now resides in the collection of Museum of Modern Art.” With this in mind, the chance that something intended as a protest can be misinterpreted as a positive statement for the arts. It is doubtful that someone viewing Fountain at the time of its presentation in 1917 would accept is as fine art, and moments later view that same Fountain in the men’s room and accept it as art as well, only to then urinate in it, simply because of the manner in which these urinals are displayed. Another contributing factor in the matter of display is the cleanliness of the urinal Duchamp submitted to the show. Fountain is void of any human waste making it inoffensive to at least two of the senses, while a urinal taken from its natural setting would emit a distinct odor and stains from usage, two things which societies, high and low find unappealing.
The removal, or omission of dirt is what makes the transformation of a urinal to Fountain more conceivable. Fountains and urinals are both items associated with plumbing because they each move water from point a to point b. If someone had decided to drink water from a new urinal, the result may be seen as abnormal, but not unsanitary. Likewise, if that person were to urinate in a water fountain, or any fountain, so long was it were used in the same fashion by everyone else, that would also be so bizarre, but plausible. The link between a clean urinal and Fountain is understood with some logical thought, but that connection would be more difficult if the fountain smelled of urine. What makes the urinal believable as Fountain is the exclusion of what makes a urinal a urinal, the urine.
What Duchamp attempted to do, and ultimately achieved with the Fountain, was expand the boundaries of visual art by introducing something unconventional in an submissive setting. What makes the readymade Fountain less credible as revolutionary art, and more like journalistic spinning is the manipulation of the audience by controlling context in which the art is viewed, and the omission of characteristics true to a urinal, a method used by rappers throughout the late 20th century. When rap music began getting airplay in the 1980s, songs by Grand Master Flash told stories of hardships and daily struggles associated with poverty and the lure of illegal activities which brought financial gains, but mortal risk as well. In “Message” one would get the impression that living in poverty with no way out could “push someone over the edge.” Nine years later another group named Geto Boys released “My Mind’s Playin Tricks on Me,” telling the story of paranoia brought on by dealing drugs and seeing no way out of the situation. These songs are the equivalent to representational art because they portray a picture based in reality with little, to no room for misinterpretations, which often occurs by glorifying one aspect, or failing to mention the less attractive consequences.
The manner in which rap, and art in general is presented has a direct impact on how the work is processed, which applies to fine art as well. Before radio airplay, or MTV, one of the only ways to hear hip-hop was through mix tapes that were copied and distributed by those participating in the underground scene, or listening to a radio station in an urban area. Anyone having access to this recorded material was typically familiar with elements that made a story credible leaving little room for fabrication. As the tapes spread, so did the dynamics of the audience. Songs about the reality of poverty became less desirable because consumers buying the music were not confined to the ghetto, and the concept of listening to a paranoid drug dealer was not appealing. The consumer needed something they could relate to, or at least something they wish they could. The mid 80’s reflected this change in hip-hop with the rising popularity of Ganster rap groups like N.W.A. which glorified violence, as if it was a means to survive. The rise in Ganster rap sales was a reflection the audience’s desire, as well as negative press, for change rather than the artist’s need for change to push the boundaries as Duchamp did in the 1917. For hip-hop it was the consumer that made 2Pac and Notorious BIG millionaires for their talents and creating fiction from other people’s non-fiction, and ironically it was the non-fiction left out of their albums that brought each of them to their early deaths.
This separation of consequence and action for hip-hop music is comparable to the removal of urine from Duchamp’s Fountain. In terms of representational and conceptual art, a representational rapper would tell a story, or scenario, from start to finish making whole references to paint a clear picture with their words. A conceptual rapper would collage bits and pieces a story in a “schizophrenic fragmentation” to create fiction from fact. On a topic like drug use, a representational rapper would talk about the pros and cons of using, how that behavior affects those around the user, and the consequences of drug use as told in Grand Master Flash’s “White Lines.” A conceptual, or abstract interpretation of that same situation would concentrate on the financial and social gains of such unlawful behavior with the attitude that ill consequences are just bad luck and not the fault of the user, a message littered throughout the discography of Notorious BIG, specifically on “Ten Crack Commandments” which tell the viewer how to successfully sell crack cocaine.
I have listened to rap music for most of my life, and I have found that with each passing year, the public wants more and more fictitious story telling less and less about real life. It is apparent that the masses have become bored, or simply grown tired of hearing about how bad things are, but sooner of later you have to come to the realization that you cannot escape reality. Likewise, anyone looking at Fountain for hours could become hypnotized by its graceful lines, and shinny surface, but sooner or later they will encounter that same urinal, in the restroom, in its real glory scented and stained by the previous user, and will find it harder to accept it as high art, or even entertainment. If nothing else, Duchamp and 2Pac share one thing in common, the suspension of belief.

Bibliography
Conceptual Art by Paul Wood. New York: Delano Greenridge Editions, 2002.
ISBN 0-929-44516-3
Performing Live Aesthetic Alternatives for the End of Art by Richard Shusterman.
Ithaca, Cornell University Press. 2000 ISBN 0-8014-8650-5
“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five from The Message 1982
“White Lines” by Grandmaster Flash from Greatest Mixes 1983
“My Mind’s Playin Tricks On Me” by The Geto Boys from We Can’t Be Stopped 1991
“Ten Crack Commandments” by Notorious BIG from Life After Death 1997

As The Flames Rose To A Roman Nose

2007-10-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing summer, I made an attempt to focus more on the landscapes and environments which my creations inhabit. This painting, 24"x24" oil on wood panel, started off by googling images of Joan of Arc and horses, then composing a layout that pleased me. Originally this painting was too include several skeletons hiding in the trees waiting to ambush Joan, but that seemed a bit silly, so I left it with only Joan riding a dead horse through the woods, illuminating the trees with her burning body. This was my first attempt at paint a horse, as well as a person riding a horse. I think it was a good idea to create a painting from a Google search because it forced me to find new ways to incorporate technology into my research and fine arts practices. The frame is nice too. And Now I Know How She Felt.

Lust, Greed, and the Olive Garden

2007-09-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the Seven Deadly Sins and Christ, Lust is pictured here depicting a male figure in bed awaken by skeletal ghouls and ghostly camera men to shoot a hellish porno. A few months after completing this painting, I went back in and added some drapery and a snake coilled around the tree limbs. This panel actually works as an addition to the Pride panel if placed directly below. The base of the cross lines up with the branches above the bed, something I hadn't intended to do, but it just worked out that way.

Greedy Grave is the first of the Sins panels completed the summer of 2006. Gambling was chosen simply because it is an activity what everyone recognizes and feeds off of greed, otherwise it wouldn't exist. Why I would paint a man playing poker with a table full of skeletons makes no sense, other than the possibility that he is playing for his soul, but you can read the painting however you like.

Last Call was the last painting of the summer session and took about 2 weeks of working late to finish. Based on the last supper, I wanted to seat Jesus at a typical family restaurant like the Olive Garden and surround him with death. I can't help but think that as time went on, Jesus could help but see all those surrounding him as the dead, or the living just waiting for death. To an extent this applies to him as well knowing the outcome of his time on earth was closing in.

Rock and Roll Crucifix 2006

2007-09-20T08:15:00.001-07:00

Working in series has always been and important part of developing a body of art for me since my undergrad studies at UGA. The painting to the left titled Pride, is one of a series of seven oil on wood panel paintings depicting the seven deadly sins told through the life of christ. The paintings measure 24" x 24" and portray christ as the embodiment of mankind's shortcomings, surrounded by skeletons who represent those who tempt and celebrate failure. These skeletons lack flesh and skin because of the endless ways in which bad behavior can manifest itself. It would be ridiculous to say that my decision to paint skeletons was purely aesthetic, because anyone who's painting one knows how much fun it can be. Inspiration for these paintings consist of theology, iconography, and record album artwork, which is evident in the size 24"x24", twice the size of an album. More of this series will be posted in the new future, as well as newer work from Uarts.