Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson 1969-

        Sorry for the few days absence, I needed to collect my mind as I gear up for the start of a new semester.
        I was on Marilyn Manson's website trying to find clips of his film project Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll (which to my utter sadness still has no official set release date, though imdb says this year), and stumbled upon his paintings, which I had probably not looked at since my freshman year of high school. While some of them are inarguably pretty vulgar (to be expected), his painting style is absolutely beautiful and strange.
       Manson's paintings are done with watercolor, and sometimes absinthe, which he discovered accidentally, "I was drinking as I was painting and put my brush in the wrong one. It makes a nice stain, so I figured I didn't want to waste it." It sounds sort of over the top, but it's very him, and the images are still really cool, regardless of whatever associations you may have with the man behind them.

-Manson's website (artwork section)
*note: There are some paintings on his website that feature nazi imagery. Though Manson is a known shock-artist and most of his work is a little controversial, usually in a way I can appreciate, I just feel the need to say that I am NOT in support of these specific pieces.
-Some of his work is also on MTV's website with comments by Manson




images: marilynmanson.com

Francesca Woodman

Francesca Woodman 1958-1981

        I've held off on writing about Francesca Woodman because she's probably my favorite photographer, and I've already written about her a good deal in essays, so my thoughts on her are numerous and somewhat non-linear. But at its base this blog is for tracking and organizing my inspirations, so I think it's time that I added her to the list.
        I was told my freshman year in college during a critique to look at her work. Somehow she had not been on my radar before then. I immediately fell in love with her highly poetic self-portraits. I scoured the internet for images, and read quite a few essays on her. Eventually I broke down and bought this book by Chris Townsend, which has 250 of her photographs (I bought it at the MFA bookstore for MUCH less, I'm not sure why it's so expensive on Amazon). I could pour over it a million times and still find a new photograph that I think is the most beautiful.
        Not only did Woodman have a natural eye for composition and make incredibly intelligent photographs (she references art history, literature), but her work made me for the first time consider photography as performance. Woodman was putting herself on display, not just her body but everything that was inside her, as she was working it out (her work was made from ages 13-22, when she died). Her haunting work explores the space between childhood and adulthood, femininity, sex, invisibility, reality, life, death.

The best online gallery I could find of her images is here.




images: heenan.net/woodman

Dan Estabrook

        As promised in my brass tea news years resolution; a contemporary male artist I had not previously heard of. Admittedly the tip came from yesterday's Morbid Anatomy snippet, but having just completed an early photo history course, this was just too much to pass up.
        Dan Estabrook uses only 19th century processes to create his intimate and surreal photographs. He is "working [my] way backwords through photo history to learn how to draw again".
        He got into photography through magazines for punk-rock and skateboarding culture, went on to do his undergrad at Harvard and MFA at UNI Urbana-Champaign, and now lives/works in Brooklyn. (His professor at Harvard was internationally known alternative process photographer Christopher James - who I've been dying to work with since high school, but he now works at the Art Institute of Boston where I'd be locked into only photography, something I'm unwilling to corner myself into).
        Estabrook says that he wants to "marry the image-making with the process so much so that they can't be separated", that is, to make images that don't depend on the method to be interesting, but that only make sense printed in their historic method. His methods are certainly difficult to overpower, whether or not the viewer has knowledge of the specific process, they are all recognizable as early photographic techniques, and with that comes a certain level of intrigue. There are plenty of artists using these techniques, he notes, and that he does not want to be one whose images only interest is that they were made a certain way.
        In my opinion they are successful in this, for not only would his images and compositions be interesting in another media (though admittedly possibly less-so), but what he is really driving at, his themes, are those which have transcended time and affected people always; love, life, sex, death. By using various early processes and placing them in a modern context he is immediately speaking about this.

        If you're really interested and want to know more about what actually drives his work, there's a $40 documentary dvd on him, which you can purchase here (there's also a good 5min preview you can watch, from which I got the quotes I've used here).


Estabrook's site
short bio on Estabrook




images: pathetica.net/artwork

Amy Cutler

        I was first attracted to Amy Cutler's illustrations because of the weird space they seem to occupy between nonsense and some sort of strange ritual. I wasn't quite sure what to make of them. I was interested.
        I stumbled across her when finding images for my post a little while back on Nikki S. Lee, whose work is carried by the Leslie Tonkonow gallery; which represents Amy Cutler. Her gouache illustrations are charming, but at the same time there is something unsettling about them. They are slightly off. Women performing mundane tasks (tasks that are particularly associated with females) are offset by slight peculiarities in the scene. (The perfect subtleness of the strangeness in her scenes can especially be seen in the first image, it took me a while to notice the women behind the trees.) The stark white absence of background leaves a large hole in the narrative which makes it clear the whole story is not being told. It makes them appear deceptively simple. They are nonetheless definitely narratives, however cryptic, or pieces of them at the very least.

Cutler at Tonkonow




images: various sources, c. Amy Cutler

Kiki Smith

Kiki Smith 1954-

        I meant to write about Kiki Smith around the time of SMFA's InsideOut sale (as she had a piece in it; Born last image - one of her many depictions of the red riding hood tale) but somehow I managed not to do so.
        Kiki Smith is one of those artists where I've had an impossible time choosing images to put up here. This is not only because I love her work so much (definitely one of the artists I aspire to be like), but also because she works across so many mediums that it's absolutely impossible to give any kind of window into the breadth of her work. Nevertheless, I have chosen some of my favorites, and tried to give a small taste of what she's about.
        Smith has said that she strongly identifies with her gender, and it is definitely clear in her work, which re-contextualizes and reconstructs stories, myths, and histories; through her female eye. The two sites I've included here have way more information about her than I could possibly share or even summarize, so I suggest you take a look at one or both.

-awesome MoMA interactive site from their 2003 show Kiki Smith: Prints, Books & Things with lots of her work and lots of info.
-Art:21 on Kiki Smith (in the "Stories" episode)






images: pbs.org & moma.org

Ashley Vick

        This past fall I went to the SoWa Open Market and happened upon the jewelry of Ashley Vick, who operates under the names Filomena Demarco Jewelry and Filomena's House. She is a grad of MassArt (bfa in metals), and her work is gorgeous.
        Particularly stand-out are her rings, which are hand carved (or hand formed) in wax and cast in sterling silver, so each is unique. I couldn't help myself, and ended up with her heart ring (first image far right) for christmas. I am definitely a collector of rings, I'm never without at least five, but this one has not left my hand since I got it a couple weeks ago. The shape is so feminine and natural, and you can really sense the hand-made aspect of it. It's clear that a lot of her goes into her rings. It really makes me feel good to wear it, which was particularly interesting to me after reading a statement on one of her sites, which reads;
"Vick remembers piling on her mother's jewelry with a more-is-better approach, and how beautiful it made her feel to wear it ... She thinks about how much jewelry went unworn and how it was locked away for safekeeping. The memory of this has shaped her relationship to jewelry. Vick believes it should be worn, and that the value of how good it feels to wear it is in fact more valuable than the object itself."
        Her intentions definitely shine through in her work.
        I found my way to her personal website (the one for all her metalwork not just her jewelry), and was entranced once again, particularly by an earlier piece of hers, a chunky cuff, which again displays her ability to effectively use natural forms, as it could be anything from an otherworldy worm to a root system.

Filomena Demarco Jewelry
Vick's Etsy
Vick's website




images: etsy.com/shop/FILOMENAsHouse & ashleyvick.com

José Guadalupe Posada

José Guadalupe Posada 1852-1913

        I was feeling really uninspired today, so I wasn't sure what to write about. I looked to my bookshelf for inspiration, and seeing my Images of Death in Mexican Prints book (which is amazing), thought I might write a quick one about Posada.
        If you've seen images relating to Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) you've probably seen one or two reproductions of his prints, one of the most famous being the etching La Catrina (1st image). Though his images of Día de los Muertos are often what are most frequently associated with him today, he actually started out as a political cartoonist (then commercial and advertising, but his illustrations continued to always have some sort of satyrical or political edge). Even La Catrina, which is now so iconic, was intended as a criticism of the upper class.

Online collection of some of his prints





images: artoftheprint.com

Nathalie Djurberg

Nathalie Djurberg 1978-

        I was attempting to organize my studio today, and found a section of a magazine page (I can't even tell what magazine it's from) that a little sleuthing revealed I had ripped out in 2008. It was a brief review of Nathalie Djurberg's show Turn into Me, which was at the Fondazione Prada April-June 2008. The short paragraph was accompanied by the second photograph I've posted here (which is from her animation We Are Not Two, We Are One), which of course caught my attention.
        While I love her work as a whole, I'm going to focus less on the content of her animations (which are wildly graphic, both sexually and violence-wise, so if you decide to watch one you've been warned) because it is less of an interest to me than the manner in which she presents the videos. I will say regarding the content that it was in many ways refreshing to see someone (particularly a young attractive female) tackling such rough (and surrealist) topics that especially in today's culture are being closeted away. The animations are no doubt offensive, but it's certainly no accident.
        As I mentioned, what really most interests me about her work is the presentation, which from what I've been able to gather, typically culminates in a really cohesive environmental installation. Too often in galleries and museums I find myself peering into a dark room, watching a few seconds of a video or film, and ducking out. I feel like many people do not even go that far and simply write off the small rooms. This is not to suggest that video/animation/film can not exist effectively on its own, because it obviously does and that would be an absurd statement, but in terms of the gallery/museum setting, I think her method is a million times more engaging, particularly for the kinds of animations she's making. You literally enter into her strange world. Without them the animations are still interesting, both visually and conceptually, but something is almost left to be desired, and the environments really seem to make everything come together and complete.
        The bizarre environments (large butts rising out of the floor, strange caves, mazes of giant otherworldy flowers) are accompanied by the audio of her animations, which is always done by Hans Berg. The unease and eeriness of the music really completes the atmosphere (at least, as from what I can gather and have seen online, not having been able to see her work in person myself).
        There's a really nice blog post on her work itself here, which is definitely worth checking out if you're even minutely interested.


(I couldn't direct link this first link so: select "exhibitions", then "exhibition archive", "2008" and "Nathalie Djurberg")
-Interactive map of Turn into Me at the Fondazione Prada with really cool panoramic views (click the circular arrows then hold down the mouse to move around, and I'd recommend the full screen. Why doesn't every gallery have this feature?!)
-Press release for Turn into Me at the Fondazione Prada
-Walkthrough of Experiment at the 2009 Venice Biennale




images: various sources; 1&4 are of Turn into Me, and 3 is of Experiment

Pitchfork's top 50 music videos of the 2000s

        Today marks my 100th post! I actually intended to post this list closer to new years, but it slipped my mind entirely. Pitchfork has tons of staff "top" lists on their site, and of course one that held particular interest to me was the "Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s". I slowly worked through them from 50 to 1, it's pretty interesting, many of them I hadn't seen or even heard of the artists. (I will warn you, that if you begin to work your way through the list, not to get turned off by the graphicness number 50, which consists of two people having sex with flashing graphics and blocks of color behind them...... I'm hardly prude but even artistically it's worth skipping, the lo-fi thing has been done).
        It's hard not to mention more of these; there were a bunch that I really liked the concept of but the actual video didn't hold my interest, some where I had no idea what I was seeing (in a good way), and a few that were just really cute, but here are some favorites:
#45. The Dead Weather "Treat Me Like Your Mother" (Jonathan Glazer 2009) : This is honestly my favorite video from the list. So simple and SO badass. And of course the end shot is gorgeously sick.
#44. Fever Ray "If I Had a Heart" (Andreas Nilsson 2009) : Bizarre and really eerie. It fits the song perfectly and the filming is absolutely beautiful.
#32. Battles "Atlas" (Tim Saccenti 2007) : Really simple, but a really interesting and new (as far as I know) take on the typical band-in-a-room-performing music video. I also love the hint of sci-fi vibe.
#30 Kanye West ""Can't Tell Me Nothing" [Oldham/Galifianakis version] (Michael Blieden 2007) : Most hilarious thing; Will Oldham (aka musician Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) dancing in the background in bright orange shorts while Zach Galifianakis mouths the lyrics in a totally serious way atop a tractor. Nothing could contrast the song better.
#21. Björk "Wanderlust" (Encyclopedia Pictura 2008) : Björk and stereoscopic 3D. Need I say more?
#10. OK Go "Here It Goes Again" (Trish Sie 2006) : Everyone has seen this. It's just brilliant. And very them.
#9. Fatboy Slim "Weapon of Choice" (Spike Jonze 2001) : Why is this only #9?!


There are quite a few videos that I think deserved to be on the list (Spike Jonze's video for the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's "Y Control" for example?!??!), and plenty that I would take off, but it's just one opinion by a couple of guys. While they may not be the 50 most artistic music videos of the 2000s, overall they're definitely an interesting look at the last decade's culture and technology.

The full list, with videos embedded



images: Björk "Wanderlust", Kanye West ""Can't Tell Me Nothing" [Oldham/Galifianakis version], The Dead Weather "Treat Me Like Your Mother".

Denise Grünstein

(*you'll probably want to click to view these images larger)

        Denise Grünstein has been getting a bit of internet attention lately because of a series of photographs she's taken of Sandra Backlund's knitwear (see second image). I thought they were pretty cool (very creepy and surreal, which in this specific case is admittedly largely due to Backlund's strange fashions), so I did a bit of looking at Grünstein's other stuff.
        I went through her site in order, which goes editorial - advertising - exhibition - flowers (i'll be honest i spent very little time looking at the flower pictures, beautiful but not nearly as interesting). I was really interested in her editorial and advertising work, they're as I mentioned, very surreal and quirky. They definitely have a bit of that commercial vibe to them though (not that there's anything wrong with this, it's just recognizable). I was then even more excited to see her "exhibition" section, which pushes out of the safe zone and really makes you wonder what the hell is going on. In "Figure in Landscape" (images 1&4) a woman carries out some questionable activities (dragging a pink garbage bag through a park?) in what seem to be varying emotional states, and in different levels of visibility. In "Malplacé" (3rd image) it becomes difficult to determine how many women are in the images, which are paired in diptychs, most of which with just one woman, until suddenly she finds herself back to back with her doppelgänger. The series are bizarre to say the least, and I love the feeling of not really knowing what is going on, but that something is not quite right. Definitely worth taking a look.

Grünstein's website




images: cameralink.com/photographers/denise-grunstein

Fefe Talavera

Fefe Talavera 1979-

        Since I am home for the holidays I was going through a bunch of old Juxtapoz magazines to check if I could throw them out, and stumbled upon a few great artists I had overlooked the first time, including Brazilian street artist Fefe Talavera, whose work is both beautiful and badass.
        Her myspace explains that her monster paintings "are metaphors for strong and subconscious human emotions like anger, fear, dreams or desire", and that she connects them to the "dark side of her inner self". Her cultural roots also play a large part in her work, as she (who is half Mexican half Brazilian) was raised in São Paulo which is known for its graffiti scene, and has also affected some of the deeper meanings and intentions behind her work. Inspired by her heritage she also incorporates Aztec and Mayan mythologies into her work.
        I just thought her images were really strong and definitely worth putting up here, so take a look.

Talavera's blog ,
myspace ,
& flickr .




images: flickr.com/photos/fefe_talavera