Before I sign off to enjoy the holiday with my nearest and dearest, I bring you a genius work of poetic justice by Rob Sheridan…
And my favorite holiday flickr set this year: boopsie.daisy’s colorful kitschy photographs.
She makes me feel like my eyes are eating candy…
Whatever you celebrate, may your hearts and bellies be full of wonderful things. Many thanks and warm wishes to everyone who has been reading SheWalksSoftly!
(Santa snow globe from corbis)
Think you’ve seen the most uncomfortably themed jewelry ever created? Nope…not until now, you haven’t. In case some of you are at work, or prefer not to look, I will simply direct you to:
ENEMA EARRINGS AND PINS (the design is actually a marvelous replica of the antique apparatus)
Then there is the Colon of Joy, which I happen to love:
But WAIT…
DO NOT let one pair of enema earrings and a colon deter you from exploring the rest of the Lunaparc website, where you’ll find some of the most amazing hand crafted metal miniatures out there. Ricky Boscarino is a veritable genius.
Some of my favorite things (art, sewing, anatomy) are included in his collection…
The kitchen sets are phenomenal too.
And check out the pottery section for amazing creations like this:
Luna Parc is a five acre wonderland in northwestern New Jersey, home to Ricky’s impressive array of art, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, stained glass and other eccentric projects.
I really want to take a tour!
The incredible Laurie Hogin has a new show at Littlejohn Contemporary in NY.
It’s a particularly colorful menagerie for Hogin, and she stays true to her signature intense and snarling hybrids.
Hogin contends that the history of European painting, since the rise of the merchant class in the 16th century, represents the history of Western attitudes towards the subjects depicted, including beauty, wealth, domestic life and romantic transcendence, as well as human dominion over nature. These attitudes persist, even as our means of representing them has expanded, and are part of our daily cultural currency. –Source
Her bunnies are always among my favorite; silent, seething creatures boiling beneath the surface with decidedly non-lagomorphic rage.
Hogin’s paintings are deliciously vibrant and fierce, with life bursting at the seams of traditional realism.
Check out some of her past work on her website and the current exhibit here.
PS I hope these art posts are not getting lost in the shuffle. I like to inject a little regular SheWalksSoftly fare into the Holiday Horrors.
I’ve been meaning to post my favorite Danilo Beyruth image for a while, but was reminded when my ice cream socks arrived today (yes, I gave in and bought them).
I have never seen such an intensely tortured ice cream soul. This cone has descended into full-on agonizing madness. You can almost hear him screaming.
More from Danilo Beyruth.
I have to attempt a trip to the Joshua Liner Gallery before December 20th to see Kris Kuksi’s new solo exhibition.
Pardon me as I get lost in these sculptures for a few hours…
On his website, Kuksi describes his work:
I get inspired by the industrial world, all the rigidity of machinery, the network of pipes, wires, refineries, etc. Then I join that with an opposite of flowing graceful, harmonious, and pleasing design of the Baroque and Rococo. And of course I add a bit weirdness and the macabre.
I did wonder about his materials, and was glad to see him cover the subject:
Sculptural works are wonderfully intricate constructions of pop culture effluvia like plastic model kits, injection molded toys, dolls, plastic skulls, knick-knack figurines, miniature fencing, toy animals, mechanical parts and ornate frames or furniture parts; assembled into grotesque tableaux that look a bit like an explosion in Hieronymus Bosch’s attic.
He also has some very fine acrylic works:
And I’ve always been a huge fan of Church Tank:
Kuksi is truly a talented individual with a wide artistic scope. Check out his site for more.
Lithuanian surrealist painter Vladimir Golub has a penchant for painting ladies with cumbersome objects atop their heads.
I love the nonchalance of the women supporting these cranial worlds…
He also creates structures that border on abstract…that draw in the eye and challenge the brain to make sense of the image.
And of course, the occasional Bosch-style giant fish transportation system:
I had quite a nice time browsing his site.
December is a stellar month for art exhibits in NY. I say this as I begrudgingly fight a cold, and don’t feel up to trekking into the city.
Brazilian artist Stephan Doitschinoff (a.k.a “Calma”) combines Afro-Brazilian folklore with Baroque religious iconography, tossing in some alchemical and Pagan symbolism for good measure.
An excerpt from Carlo McCormick on the Jonathan LeVine website: With his personal study of religious art and affinity for spiritualist practices—a synthesis of European Catholicism with African vernacular (Macumba in particular)—he can migrate with fluidity from street to chapel, producing fine art conjoined with both Western painting and indigenous folkloric craft traditions.
Ooh…how I love those weaving twists and turns!
Calma currently has an exhibit at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery entitled Novo Mundo. The work is inspired by the altars and processional decorations of Brazilian religious street festivals.
Calma’s art is also the subject of a short film.
Creative painting on buses in Pakistan began as a method to attract passengers for competing transportation companies in the 1920’s. Decoration is now used on most privately or commercially owned vehicles: trucks, buses, taxis, animal carts, vendors, etc.
These trucks are moving canvasses of history that tell stories, depict beliefs, represent value systems and showcase elaborate design. The technique, materials, style, colors and symbolism vary across regions and are culturally significant.
The Pakistani per capita income is around $2,000, and some bus owners spend $3,000-$5,000 on truck decoration. These vehicles are a source a pride and personal expression.
I cannot believe that deviant artist DeaDNeSS just turned 19. He certainly has a bright future in illustration.
His pieces are incredibly detailed works of cyberpunk, fantasy and an array of macabre themes.
The color schemes are wonderful (and sometimes burn the eyes just a little), but he also has great black and white creations.
Have a look at the gallery (the full sizes are well worth it).
Since I tend to make multimedia projects instead of two dimensional art, I find Lyndie Dourthe’s work positively inspiring (particularly the Anatomie series pictured below).
My head is spinning with ideas…
SheWalksSoftly 