MONTHLY HEADER #64: Philippe Bouchet

Incredibly detailed illustrations from the French illustrator Manchu. Philippe has a new book from Delcourt/SerieB editions titled "MANCHU Starships" some time this month. I will post a link when the info becomes available. All of these illustrations are traditional acrylic on 450g weight paper, 50x65cm. Check out part TWO... Thanks Philippe!



































Keywords: traditional acrylic on paper science fiction illustrations by philippe bouchet manchu professional artist residing in france new book titled manchu starships published printed by delcourt/serieb editions publications

Cute Animal Papercraft

Here are some super cute papercraft animals by Japanese designer Ryo Tokisato. You gotta love them! In addition to the penguin, shark, chameleon, and rabbit shown here, there are also available a fox, a boar, a sperm whale, mice (in six different colors), and two different cows. The PDF templates for each of these may be downloaded at Tokisato's web page here. Once at the web page, click on the photo of the animal to download the template.

A Tribute to Christopher R. Al-Aswad

Entered into life July 16th 1979 -

Escaped into life July 27th 2010

Henry Darger

When Chris set up this Online Arts Journal just a little over a year ago, he dedicated it to his late mother, the artist Rosalind Al-Aswad.

Shocked by his untimely death, his bereft family and followers feel that an appropriate way to honor Chris’s vision is to keep his beloved journal going. Escape into Life is now also dedicated to Chris, its inspiring and charismatic founder. It is his legacy and also, we hope, his enduring monument.

In the last incomplete essay that Chris wrote before his passing, he explored his dream of blending visual and litereray arts through this online journal. Though unfinished and almost in note form, Chris’s distinctive voice shines through. It is reproduced below, incomplete as it was found.

When Visual Art Becomes Poetry

The complex inter-relationship between literary art and visual art is like an enigma to me.

This is not an intellectual puzzle I’m trying to figure out in my early 30′s. This is my life. This is what Escape into Life, online arts journal, embodies: the fusion of two types of media; art and literature; and the urge to discover what happens when a journal allows both forms to meld and grow as an organic whole.

pEscape into Life aims to explore, enmesh, and mostly, to uncover the core similarities of the two through the growth and development of technology, community, and inquiry.

At the most basic level, there’s poetry and there’s visual art; separate and distinct forms of artistic expression. Nonetheless–the history of visual art and the history of literature reflect each other to such a degree that it would seem visual artists and poets are made from the same

It’s more like an intuition has grown over the years. Undoubtedly, my parents, my upbringing, my talents and lack thereof, contributed to these two equally strong influences in my life. Mixed exposure to both literary and visual art.

Escape into Life, online arts journal, is basically a new media experiment to blend, meld, mesh, mingle, interrelate, bind, juxtapose, and interpenetrate the two forms of art.

The best comparison is to a scholar or a scientist who comes to discover that their life-work revolves around a single theme.

Of course, there is reason for my interest in this subject of art and literature; and how they remain separate and distinct and yet intricately enmeshed. My mother was an oil-painter, I was exposed to art at an early age, and I was brought up in her creative shadow.

–and a life-long exploration of mine–that fuels the very online arts journal you are reading right now, called Escape into Life.

I have no philosophy or common goal I wish to convert our readers to. There is no academic bent or political ideology behind this journal.

Escape into Life pushes the boundaries of visual art, literature, and poetry.

Nocturne by Michael Cheval

Essays by Chris Al-Aswad

Chris published his writing online under his pen name Lethe Bashar. Lethe Bashar is also the lead character he used in the Novel of Life. Chris wrote the Novel of Life as a “recording”, a fictional history of his adolescence, to have a more comprehensive understanding of the past. He wrote 22 chapters in all. A continuance of the Novel of Life is Las Vegas, a graphic novel completed with 61 chapters. He also was writing The Book of Innocence, better known as The Blog of Innocence. These were chapters of his “present” life as it happened beginning in the year 2008. Chris intended to publish four volumes of essays online but he only published the two below.

Taking Off the Mask – Essays Volume I

Sentimental Education: Essays in Art – Volume II

More of Chris’s writing can be found in his Collected Essays.

p

Poems by Chris Al-Aswad

The Pleasures are Fleeting

the pleasures are fleeting,
on some days you’re wondering
if they even exist
but in the slow station
of all our lives, a moment of being
comes and goes, lingers for awhile
out of a plateau, pleasures rise
this wondrous hot spring
fills you with momentary delight
and even the thoughts you are thinking
echo with reason and brilliance
and even the coffee tastes incredibly rich
so you want more of the experience
and less of the waiting, I suggest
a simple remedy, I suggest
breathing, maybe taking a break with me
on the pier, we’ll sit and listen to
the waves crash

p

The Swan of my Youth

I awoke in the middle of a summer night,

To see her resting outside my window,

Reposing on a patch of lilacs, crashed

Flowers under her sparse plumage, looking out-of-place,

And out-of-time, depleted after many summers

Of migrating between the many lakes,

Searching for food or friendship or refuge from

The ill-tempered geese.

Unfurling her long neck, she assumed the pale moon,

And conveyed her solemn song with dignity.

My mother painted a self-portrait

That now hangs in my apartment,

I am staring at that painting now,

Remembering how, in her final days,

She retreated into her room,

And held herself there--above all of nature--

Without the taint of fear.

I remember when I rushed into her room, crying

How she poised herself,

Without a single feather stirring.

Anxious child beating in my heart

the anxious child beating in my heart is you furious whirling child of discontent and love you disentangle with grace never losing touch with unmistakable anguish you fall belatedly to the bottom of the world

a cycle will remake you as a cycle broke you down and all your thoughts about the world won't matter

i'm young again with you i'm blind and naked and undefeated anxious child come dance with me

what are you afraid of only lovers speak this way what are you running from timid infant on a wave

the dark engulfing world will cower behind you and me

Read more of Chris's poetry in Collected Poems , and in his e-book Purposeless Solitude – Selected Poems by Lethe Bashar

Podcasts by Chris Al-Aswad

In addition to his Blog of Innocence podcast, Chris started a YouTube channel in 2008 to explore and share what he had learned through his life experiences. Among the topics he wanted to talk about were poetry, philosophy and writing. In the video below, Chris talks about the characters in Dead Souls, a Russian novel by Nikolai Gogol.

The following is an excerpt Chris wrote in his own handwriting, from Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by William Wordsworth.

From all of us who follow and love Escape into Life, thank you Chris, for everything.

Happy Howl-o-ween!

Back from vacation and ready to work. 

Happy Halloween everyone!

Alevtina Kakhidze - Revolutionary Obedience

"Art must concern itself with the real, but it throws any notion of the real into question. It always turns the real into a facade, a representation, and a construction. But it also raises questions about the motives of that construction." - Mike Kelley

Here is how it went:
Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze has been working on value and power for a while. In one of her charming projects (The Most Commercial Project), for instance, she drew objects that she liked, most of them she couldn't afford, and gave the drawings the same value that the objects had. So, a drawing of a Louis Vuitton handbag had the same value as the object itself. And when she brought her goods into her marriage, the lawyers confirmed that her estate was worth much more than her entrepreneur husband's.
In one of her projects, back in 2008, Alevtina drew the earth seen from the sky. No, this needs more precision: the earth seen from an airplane which is not her own private airplane.
Once she made the drawing, Alevtina Kakhidze wrote to some of the richest people in Ukraine - Rinat Akhmetov and Viktor Pinchuk (who has his own adventure in the art world now) - and asked them to make a drawing for her of how the earth looks from a private plane. It was a nice portfolio she sent them, very professional and smooth. She tried encouraging them, telling them it wasn't about drawing well. If anyone can draw, so can you!
This (and the obvious silence afterwards) made for a nice work. A clean statement about what we see and the position we see it from.

But two years later, unexpectedly, an answer arrives. Akhmetov decided to make his huge foundation to support artists' projects. And Alevtina's project was thought perfect for a beginning. Unfortunately, Mr. Achmetov is too busy/shy/untalented to make a drawing, but he will be happy to rent a private plane for Ms. Kakhidze, so she can make her project herself.
And make it she did.
The project, called "I'm Late For A Plane That Cannot Be Missed", started with Alevtina going by collective transport from her house in the suburbs to the airport. She hitch-hiked a little, took a suburban mini-bus, a suburban train, and (as expected) arrived late at the small private airport near Kiev. There was already a TV crew traveling with her by then, asking everyone on the way who they were and if they knew Alevtina. At the airport, there were several more crews, and over a dozen news photographers. After all, this was an important day for art and culture in Ukraine: the richest man around decided to support real artists, and started by allowing this innocent-looking girl to realize her dream.

And off she went. Onboard, she took only a few reporters. (There was even a struggle for the seat.)

The anxious journalists were mad when, upon returning, Alevtina declared only one thing: she will tell the whole story and answer all the questions tomorrow during her lecture performance. That made no news story at all! Disappointed and frustrated, they could do nothing but wait.

However, the next day arrived quite quickly. And here they were, the journalists, and tens of artists gathered at the conference in one of the most prestigious places in Ukraine (a part of the Saint Sophia Cathedral complex). Waiting mainly to learn how to get money for their projects. And, also, to hear what Alevtina has to say. And to see the drawings.
Alevtina starts describing how she prepared for the trip, how she got clothes specially designed for the occasion, she talks about the cost of the plane rental (10 000 euros). And then she declares:

I felt so calm on the way to the airport and in the sky but now I have to account for this tranquility. What have we done on the plane? We were there. There is no result. I have nothing to show for what actually happened there.

The journalists were confused. This is surely a scandal? No drawing!
But also - no demolition! No shocking performance! No reaction! Nothing! Alevtina did strictly nothing - she did not change the game, she did not make the plane fly somewhere else, she did not paint it red, she made no drawing. She took the flight.
Did I say she didn't change the game?
Of course she did.
Her non-action was performative. It created a new reality. It brought about a challenge to the system, keeping up the power struggle between the art and the money. Who is the boss here? And why?
Certainly, they want us to do what we want. But if we do what we want our way, we are the ones defining what they want. And for a fraction, it becomes our game. And this fraction, for me, is the work.

In one of her works, Alevtina writes (or quotes, the origin is unsure): “And do you remember, I found 10 roubles, and ran home to show mom. Not the 10 roubles, but how lucky I am.”
It is not the thing we find. It is about how lucky we are.
And how we subvert this luck.


PS. The struggle continues: in the description of the event on the Foundation's site, the actual request for Akhmetov to draw the earth is not mentioned, making it all seem slightly more like making "Dreams come true in art". What dreams, exactly?

Stalwart Robotic Missile Tank Papercraft

DeviantART artist "Technoscream" specializes in 3D renderings and animations of mechas. This Stalwart Robotic Missile Tank paper model is his first venture into papercraft design. The description of this mecha indicates it is encased in thick armor plating and armed with two missile pods and a hull mounted minigun. The finished papercraft is only around 2 3/4" (7 cm) tall. The template contains five different colored tanks and may downloaded here.

3D concept ships by David J

Cold-Levian on Deviantart. Sweet trucks.









Keywords: three dimensional modeling digital composite render concept spaceship starship art transportation design david j cold levian futuristic sci-fi video game film movie transport concepts rendered textured lit models

Zombie Prom Queen and King Paper Toys

UK illustrator Adam Steel has created a paper toy template which he calls "Tiny McDoodies". Adam has created several paper toy characters using his template, but my favorites to date are his Zombie Prom Queen and King (perfect for Halloween!) Downloads of the zombie toys are available here. Other paper toys available for download include a roller derby diva and a Russian sailor.

Concept ship renders by Albert Yu

Al Yu design. Lots more on conceptvehicles.























Keywords: albert yu al yu spaceship hover bike speeder design concepts sci-fi industrial design concept art san francisco pasadena art center college of design graduate disney epcot test track attraction amusement park ride designer

House of Mystery Paper Halloween Diorama

Here is a little something I put together for the 2010 Halloween season. This 3D papercraft diorama was originally printed on the back of the 1973 Halloween edition of DC Comics' House of Mystery comic book. Scans of the diorama parts were posted on The Haunted Closet blog. I downloaded the scans, scaled them, and put them in PDF format to make the table top diorama easier to print and build. The foreground of the diorama shows Cain (the host of the comic book) and his pet gargoyle, Gregory. In the background are some grave diggers and the House of Mystery itself. The style of the artwork may look familiar as it was done by well known comic artist Sergio Aragones of Mad Magazine and Groo the Wanderer fame. I have made my PDF of the diorama available for download here. Happy Halloween!

Take a break

Remember Zimoun?

Zimoun : 186 prepared dc-motors, cardboard boxes 60x60x60cm, 2010. from ZIMOUN VIDEO ARCHIVE on Vimeo.

Gremlins Papercraft: Printable Mask

The comedy horror movie Gremlins gave many a child nightmares in the 80's. Now thanks to UK illustrator Nik Holmes you can make your own cartoonish mask of the movie's troublesome little monsters. The two page printable template for the mask is available at Holmes' blog here.

Previous Gremlins Papercraft
3D Glasses Gizmo

German Shepherd Art

"Grace" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Great photos turn into great pet portraits.  The image of Grace above shows a lot of coat texture, the eyes are expressive, everything about this photograph is just perfect. I probably could have erased the wooden pole, but I sort of liked it.

"Grace" ( see all proofs)

© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Pet Photography Tips: Get Up Close!

Bacon Kitty Original photo

Bacon from yesterday's post had a great photo to work with.  Check it out above, Bacon fills the entire frame.  The best photo to send me here at Art Paw is one that is shot up close. If your camera has a zoom feature then use it. Below I will post a variety of kitty photos and show you what happens when we enlarge them.
 .................................

Tortoise shell Kitty

The photo above is cute, but the kitty is very small and shot from far away. Check the image below to see what kind of detail we have to work with once we enlarge the photo.

Tortoise shell Kitty Enlarged

The camera caught the overall scene but very little detail. I would have a hard time working with this image.

Now compare the photo above with the image below of a tabby that was shot up close.

Tabby Kitty....
Wow, look at the detail in the enlarged photograph above!

Interesting shot of a black kitty. I like this photo a lot, but it will not work well in a pet portrait, the kitty is just way too small to show much detail. See what happens below when I enlarge it.

I can not even see this cute cat's nose, there is very little detail here.

So get up close to your pet. If you have to  you can have someone hold them in their lap, I can erase the human, but I can not create detail I can not see, and when I do it is total guess-work.