Assignment3: The Angel of Meat

‘The Angel of Meat  (Angelica Carnis)‘     
Oil on Panel  Painting Size : 38” x 33”  1998

I choose one of his master piece 'The Angel of Meat' from the exhibition, The Meat Show. This is the typical drawing of him consists of lady, fresh meat and religion. Many people guess that his drawings or paintings are all about death or sex. Yet, Mark explains the young girl symbolises soul; fresh meat means life. This idea is inspired by Virgil Crow's quote, 'Life is a great illusion.' Mark is fascinated by the fact that meat is one of the core factors to continue the life of human beings who turn meat, once was beautiful and lively, into something lifeless. He opposes the unnecessary cruel methods people kill the innocent animals for their meats. Thus, he tries to warn the public if human beings are the ones who being eaten, will they still mistreat the animals in this way? Besides, one of the reasons of drawing meat is that a piece of meant gives the audience visual impulses. Mark accords the meats with soul by the marblings on the surfaces. Moreover, meats can catch people attention as Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Vincent Van Gogh also often drew them. For the religious element inside the painting, he was inspired by the bible: 'While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."' As Christians gather every Sunday, Mark defines they eat Jesus's body once a week. He believes this scripture is funny and frightening at the same time, he leaves the imagination to the audience in order to raise the awareness of his art pieces.

'The Calvary with Donor' 1490
Oil on panel   Size: 71x59cm

The reference piece is 'The Calvary with Donor' painted by Hieronymus Bosch. According to a website called LOST AT E MINOR, Mark Ryden is inspired by past masters such as Bosch, Bruegel and Ingres. The paint Calvary with Donor is similar to The Angel of Meat.

First of all, both of the paintings are in the form of oil on panel, which is a painting made on a flat panel made of woord, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century,it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and paintings for the framing. Oil on panel indicates a smooth and flawless drawings, hence, can express the frightful and creepy feelings of the contents or message behind the paintings. The style of Mark and Bosch are so alike. They both draw terrifying scenes with happy or fascinating method. For examples, Mark likes to draw a little girl who is bleeding with a smile on her face. And, Bosch had an art piece called the Hell panel, is about hell with depictions of fantastic punishments of the various types of sinners on the right panel. They would like to express extreme message in the opposite way.

Secondly, both art pieces include religious element. The Angel of Meat is about a cross and angel, hence, The Calvary with Donor is all about Jesus being crucified. Both of them are unusual to normal drawings. For the work by Mark, the angel is naked and there are meats hanging in the air. Furthermore, for the work by Bosch, patron is included in the paintings. The unknown patron is in fact referred to as 'donor' in the title, suggesting the work was donated, presumably to a church. Their works are special.

Last but not least, the minor objects in the drawings are also very important in the two paintings. In the Angel of Meat, there are pieces of meats flowing in the air. The fleshes symbolise lifeless. Also, in The Calvary with Donor, there are bones laying on the floor while Jesus is still alive. According to the Bible, there was no description about those bones. Obviously, the artist added the bones by himself. Bones in a coincident also represent lifeless. Their mindsets are so comparable.

Reference:

http://www.artbible.info/art/large/385.html
http://www.lostateminor.com/mark-ryden/
http://aboutbiblevideos.com/bibleimagedetails.php?ID=518
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch

Assignment2: Pseudo-fairy tale

Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter. Ryden is one of the most well known artists of the Pop Surrealist movement, an underground, pop-culture-infused art scene with its origins in 1970s Southern California. He was dubbed "the god-father of pop surrealism" by Interview Magazine. Ryden's aesthetic is developed from subtle amalgams of many sources: from Ingres, David and other French classicists to Little Golden Books. Ryden also draws his inspiration from anything that will evoke mystery; old toys, anatomical models, stuffed animals, skeletons and religious ephemera found in flea markets. According to The New York Times, "Ryden’s pictures hint at the psychic stuff that pullulates beneath the sentimental, nostalgic and naïve surface of modern kitsch.

In the 16th century, the European were fascinated by different kinds of natural objects. They started to collect specimen to fulfil their 'wardrobe of curiosities'. They were amazed by the specimen which satisfied the desires and infatuations of weird things. In 2004, Mark Ryden run an art exhibition called Wondertoonel Der Nature, which he showed pictures with weird characters with many pinky colours, indicated a mysterious world. In this world full of pseudo-fairy tales, the cute and pinky characters under Mark struggled between positive and negative, as the backgrounds of cutting flesh, bones or even dead bodies. Moreover, the tones of barbies or teletubbies were being distorted since the distance between two eyes was longer than usual. These paintings somehow frightened people and made people freak out from the inside. Mark claimed that his works have the shadows of Bosch and Alice in Wonderland.

YHWH
Oil on canvas, 2000
Painting Size: 10"x14"

Mark's hypocritical fantasy world and unique painting techniques have made him stands out from the many contemporary artists in the 21st century.

58 The Apology
Oil on canvas, 2006
Painting Size: 24"x32"

I believe that the environment and the background of that period of time affect the drawing style of the artist to a certain extend. To Mark, the unusual style of him is directly affected by his growing environment. During his childhood, science fiction art and literature were at the pinnacle of success. He always visited museums, especially natural and medical museums.  Furthermore, he was also keen on appreciating anatomical models made by wax and some mysterious counterfeit old houses. Some people even said that Mark constantly drew the internal organs out of the characters' bodies, also an extra eye on the forehead when he was doing self portrait. Teachers were shock by his weird imagination as anyone could tell that he was unlike other in the same age. They even took him to meet psychotherapists. Fortunately, with the open-minded of his parents, they have never stopped Mark from his art works.

Hence, Mark's unique drawing style makes him famous since they have impressed many people. The recent art pieces of him not only are the combination of cute naivety and eccentric weirdness, but a very complex style. Others can never truly understand his paintings.

For me, art pieces about food can always raise my awareness, as appetite is known as the top desire comparing to lust or alcohol. The general public talks about appetite open and aboveboard, we do not have to pretend solemn, unlike the other examples. Foods are the basic requirement for our lives, and also the core supplement for the functioning of our physical and mental health. At the same time, appetite also shows how people’s perspective on killing. I am not talking about vegetarians; even Mark himself is not one. What I want to point out is that even though some of the people eat meats everyday and enjoy the taste of them, they still cannot accept the bloody and gory picture of killing livestock. Human beings and humanity, desire and ethics, rationality and emotion; people can never get out of the box of destiny. Therefore, we learn to pretend we do not see the inner self, to find excuses.

From the above video, we can see the whole process of Mark drawing Incarnation.

Reference:

1. 美術報, (2009, October 29), 亦正亦邪的魔幻世界. 

    Retrieved from http://big5.china.cn.gate.cn/haiwai/2009-10/29/content_3212793.htm

2. Kate Lightfoot, (2006, February 18), Mark Ryden Interview.

    Retrieved from http://www.lifelounge.com.au/art-and-design/news/mark-ryden-interview.aspx

3. Mark Ryden, (2011, October) Meat. Artist Statement.

    Retrieved from htty://www.markryden.com/biography/index.html

Not only inside galleries.

Date: 1st Feb 2013

Venue: Mong Kok

Artists: Unknown

You cannot find them in the grand, spectacular galleries, instead of under the overhead walkway.

You do not have to pay for entrance fee, instead of freely walk by.

GRAFFITI always amazes me. Not only that I can find them everywhere along the street, it is the creativity that the street artists have. The graffitis are similar to other art pieces that show the emotions of artists or convey messages to the participants. What makes them unique is that the message behind the graffiti. Outside Hong Kong, for examples, South America and the Middle East, radical and political purposes are aften the main goals of the street artists. They show their desires of the public and fight for human rights.

A cartoon which used the style of throw-up on the floor.

Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Artists use simple lines or shapes to compose a picture in order to express their feelings, as well as to catch the public's attention. 

The style of most of the artists used is 'throw-up', also known as a 'bombing' which is normally painted very quickly with two or three colours, sacrificing aesthetics for speed. It can also be outlined on a surface with one colour. For example, the picture on the right, the artist used only black and red, and outlined with white colour for the body of the character.

This mysterious journey was really a blast. As a girl who knows nothing about street arts, had so much feelings after seeing all those pictures. To be frank, I was upset by the many obstacles the government has put to obstruct the development of street arts. People always think that people who paint graffiti are bad gangster who hang around at the street all day and do not have a job. Yet, it is not the truth. I was amazed by the talents of street artists who can create such a stunning and remarkable art pieces with limited resources. They start from zero. They really are the creators. From my own opinion, the government is now giving them so little resources that limited their talents. The government, as well as the general public, should have a more open mind, to accept different kinds of arts in our society. More resources can be provided for them to chase their dream.

As I just went there for a visit, we could not have a chance to deeply interview and talk to the artists. Also, I could not dig for the reasons behind of their paintings. If I have a chance, I will definitely talk to them and find out more about their stories of the art pieces and their own.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti