"Reflection 2691"

This piece (8" x 10") was made in honor of the 50th anniversary of the death of Kurt Seligmann. Instead of inclusion of an image of Seligmann or his work, I have chosen to allude to the artist through a combination of narrative and physical means. Not only was Seligmann a surrealist artist, he also wrote a book about the occult in 1948 entitled “The Mirror of Magic”. As part of my piece - which might be considered surrealistic in style - I have included a senryu (i.e., a haiku without reference to nature) that makes a conjecture about the connection of surrealism and the occult. In order to read the senryu, it must be seen in a mirror (provided); making this a subtly interactive piece. The senryu is "Surrealism, perhaps a mirror image of the occult world" (n. b. The title is ‘reflective’ of the year of Seligmann’s death).

"The Question"

I finished this piece today. It was mostly finished for a while (the two holes with the man and woman). I knew I was going to put a third "hole" in it, but wasn't sure about what to do after that. I decided on the skeleton transfer. It's always a bit nerve-wracking for a collagist like me to place a transfer, because I never know exactly what it's going to look like until it is placed (and then it's too late to do something else). I like to have a little more control. But I think it turned out well. Then I thought I needed something in the upper left hand quadrant of the piece for "balance". I tried Saturn, but it was too dark (and thus not recessive enough). Then I looked at the piece matted and in its antique frame and I decided that although the piece isn't "balanced" per se, it "opens up" on the left and this actually enhances the "feel" of the piece. Glad to have this piece done (it's been around for a while) and happy to be fairly satisfied with it. BTW, it's 11.5" x 6". The question is... what is "The Question"? Enjoy.

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Here's my latest piece (9.5 x 9.5"). I haven't been in the studio for a couple weeks because I have been busy with the beginning of a new semester and was at a conference in Louisville last week (that deserves its own post). Anyway, I'm pleased with this piece. In a way, it's the "opposite" of many of my other work in which I place color accents within a black-and-white (or muted palette). This piece features a colorful background with black-and-white accents. The "guys" were each individually cut and meticulously placed (that's what took the longest in this composition... by far). Enjoy!