Hundterwasser was an Austrian painter, architect, and an early environmentalist. In the commentary for the painting (1971) pictured here, he wrote “Only when the DIVINE respect of GREEN POWER, only when the love of VEGETATION becomes part of us all, only then can we improve step by step our dying environment.” His paintings are a flurry of intense color, repeating shapes, dense line work... His buildings are organic in form, often featuring living rooves, undulating surfaces, and even holes to accommodate pre-existing trees. In his late years Hundterwasser dedicated himself enthusiatically to the environmental movement. He was a huge advocate of the composting toilet.
meet Lars Vilks
This Swedish artist’s driftwood sculptures are a mixture of skill (the man knows how to wield a hammer) and abandon (the shear energy and focus it must take him to collect and assemble these driftwood behemoths leaves me dizzy and excited). Vilks somehow circumvented Swedish building codes for these babies by selling the art to a private collector and declaring them a country unto themselves (not sure how that worked, I prefer to imagine Vilks standing at the top of one of his sculptures, waving a flag, and yelling “behold, I name you Landonia”.) Anyway, that is what I’ve know and liked of the Lars Vilks story. What I didn’t know, until my recent interest in controversial art, is the story of Lars Vilks the cartoonist.
In 2007 Vilks displayed a series of cartoon drawings of the Islamic prophet Mohammed with a dog’s body. People were angry! Since then he’s had multiple threats on his life, including one Iraqi organization’s $150,000 reward offer to anyone willing to assassinate Vilks. WOW!
more on controversial art and artists
I am preparing to give a talk in a fiber arts course at LCC this month. Although I’ve spent plenty of time at the front of a classroom, I am typically engaging humans under 11 years of age (a notoriously accepting and enthusiastic bunch). In an effort to better prepare myself for the more discriminating gaze of the adult collective, I went yesterday, to Wendy Huhn’s talk in the same course. She is a fibers and mixed media artist who (unbeknownst to me, but oh so appropriate after last week’s angry mother incident) consistently uses disturbing, often confusing, and sometimes controversial images in her work. She eventually removed one piece from her LCC show last year after multiple students raised objections to her image of a “zulu baby”. Although I am not particularly drawn to her work, I was interested in what she had to say about her process and image choices. It got me thinking about the artists I am drawn to and influenced by. I’ve started reading up on a few of them and found “controversial” was a surprising thread connecting many of them. More to come in my next few blogs!
the next Maplethorpe?
Yes, apparently my work is controversial and inflammatory. This quilt incited one woman to write the following on Latte Play’s facebook page: " I ordered a coffee and went to sit down only to hear the word "hell" repeatedly over the rock music playing, rolling stone magazines, and a huge nude painting of a woman with her breasts exposed as she is straddling what seems to be onions. Frankly this is not a family friendly atmosphere. I will never be back to that coffee shop. Thoroughly appalled and disgusted!!!
Art museums, Greece and Rome are NOT marketing themselves to children. To take your child to a place like that would be a conscious choice and one that I would like to make rather than be completely caught off gaurd and deceived by a name that implies kid friendly. It was offensive and tacky. Let parents know there will be a distasteful and confusing painting of a naked woman straddling onions. Kids would play with each other in a strip club. Doesn't mean it's an appropriate atmosphere to take them to!"
I must admit to being somewhat tickled by this visceral response to my work.
mutation
I recently came across photos of this rare variety of dogwood. A native to Mexico, it is apparently called Magic Dogwood. Plants are such a wonderful expression of genetic diversity and mutation. How and why would a dogwood develop flowers like these? It gets me thinking and guessing at humanities’ genetic trends in our uncertain distant future. I’d like these flowers instead of hair.
on repetition
My college educators were always emphatically stating it, “Repetition, Repetition, Repetition”! We were repeatedly subjected to famous works and told to notice the use of repetition as a unifier, for thematic emphasis, as a defining aspect of an artist’s style... I stored this information somehow, somewhere. I use the tool of repetition in almost every piece I make, but it wasn’t until I took on the task of painting these little berries, one after another, tiny brush, little careful dabs of red paint, that I felt it as a mantra. Dip, dab, repeat, repeat, repeat... After the initial idea, so much of art making is small steps repeated again and again. There is beauty in repetition. Has someone said that before? Was it me? Well it’s worth repeating.
on cultivating an image
My daughter did a fantastic job on this summer squash. I am seriously considering hiring her to do my marketing and presentation.