Leonard Baskin

        anyone who knows me knows that i have a deep love for and fascination with birds, and i have recently been admiring the prints of Leonard Baskin, for whom birds are a reoccurring topic. he is perhaps better known for his sculpture (which was indeed his original passion, which he discovered at age thirteen, his sculptures can be seen in the D.C. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Holocaust memorial in Ann Arbor, Michigan), but was also a printer, illustrator, typographer, writer and teacher. best described by the gallery that represents the now deceased (1922-2000) artist's estate, Galerie St. Etiene (they represent a lot of amazing artists, particularly now big-name outsider artists, definitely take some time on their site),
        "Each of Baskin's works reveals an artist in possession of enormous visual and literary vocabularies. The pluralistic nature of his abilities is echoed in wide-ranging (and often recurring) subjects. Baskin's attraction to Old Testament themes perhaps comes as no surprise, considering that he was the son of an orthodox rabbi. However, Greek mythological personages, predatory birds, Native Americans and figures of death and the dead also number among Baskin's considerable cast of characters. Social consciousness and a high regard for humanity connect the numerous and apparently diverse artworks that comprise Baskin's oeuvre."

        though some of his images of birds are slightly more humorous (a few of the particularly colorful or fat ones made me giggle), a handful of them are so dark and captivating that i can't let them go.

two good sources for his work are here and here.



photos: http://www.rmichelson.com/Leonard-Baskin.html and http://www.gseart.com/