Category Archives: Eyecatchers

Stuff, mostly art, that catches my eye.

Eyecatchers: Ondrej Pakan’s Dew-Covered Insects

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I LOVE macrophotography, for all the vivid detail of a subject it can provide, for the contrast with the blurry background, and because I’m becoming more and more farsighted as I get older. (Check out the macro work of a dear friend of Fish & Bicycles: Helen’s Photomania Blog)

But I have to admit, I experienced very mixed feelings when viewing Ondrej Pakan‘s series of dew-covered insects (via treehugger and The Telegraph)

On one hand, the compositions, details, colors, and dew drops are absolutely stunning.

On the other hand, I can’t look at these images without having the terrifying notion that these creatures could one day mutate to giant proportions and kill me.

And so I offer up this selection of Pakan’s work, so that I might not be so alone with my terror. (Be sure to click the images to make these critters larger and scarier!)

Eyecatchers: Street Art by BLU

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It’s been a while since I featured a street artist in an Eyecatchers installment, but I was inspired to do so today when I came across the work of Italian artist BLU, via Street Art Utopia.

Of the last artist I featured, Sam3, I said that his work was particularly noteworthy for having, “…a distinct touch of sweetness that is often missing in the edgy world of street art.”

Which is not to say that I don’t appreciate edgy art. Indeed, edginess is practically inherent in street art, specifically because there’s often a conflict in the mere existence of it — in works created on a large, in-your-face scale — and the act of creation itself is often illegal.

Digging deeper, as I wrote on the subject back in March 2011, street art can be seen as a powerful reminder, to an economic elite wearing blinders, that injustices keep them elite, an elite that wants to, “…cocoon themselves in their squeaky clean estates, trying to blot out visions of tin shack shanty towns and war-ravaged landscapes.”

Well, BLU’s work is loaded with statements, both subtle and overt, about the inhumane ugliness wrought by the wealthy and powerful, so it seems more appropriate for me to just hand it over to him, via the following photos, as well as a stunning “making of” video of a piece he did in Valencia. (Be sure to check out BLU’s website too for even more of his work, including some amazing animations he’s done.)

Click on the images to enlarge:

Eyecatchers: Mark Powell

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Ok, I know I posted an Eyecatchers installment yesterday, but the following just astounded me.

So, sue me! :-)

Via Colossal, I’ve discovered the work of Mark Powell, an artist creating absolutely stunning portraits on vintage used envelopes, using only a Bic Biro pen.

Powell has a particular fascination for old, deeply wrinkled and haggard faces, and you could even say it’s a nearly morbid fascination (not many smiles here). And yet, I detect a clear empathy and compassion for his subjects, evident in the emotion you can see right below the surface or oozing out in particular facial expressions, especially via the eyes.

As a result, the work doesn’t come across as overly depressing, and some of the portraits even come ever so close to caricature, in a good way, without actually going there.

The texture and patina of the envelopes, along with the postmarks, stamps, addresses, and handwriting somehow seem fully integrated into the compositions, enhancing both the aesthetics and themes.

Do treat yourself to some time at the artist’s website, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorites:

Eyecatchers: “Bad” Photos By Good Photographers

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Here’s a fun diversion!

The Guardian has a short but fascinating slideshow up today, consisting of selected photos from noted photographers, who’d been asked to talk about what they considered to be their worst shot.

Now, naturally, since these are VERY good photographers, their “worst” shots are still, in most cases, very good photographs, and sometimes the explanation they give has more to do with the subtext surrounding the subject, rather than anything technical about the shot itself.

Anyway, I love reading about the creative process behind works that don’t immediately, by themselves, tell the whole story.

Here’s my favorite shot of the bunch (But you’ll have to click on the link above to find out why it’s considered “bad” :-) ):

Eyecatchers: Terry Maker

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"Point" by Terry Maker

As mentioned last week, I was just in Colorado, and I had the most pleasant surprise at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, where I discovered the work of Terry Maker.

I say “pleasant surprise” because, I admit, having never been to Colorado Springs, I had let the mountain (pun intended) of what I didn’t know about the city coalesce into low expectations of a cowpoke town, where “fine art” was limited to coffee table books.

I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I am pleased to report that The Springs, as I heard some locals refer to it, is a vibrant and charming small city, nestled up against the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains.

The Fine Arts Center houses a wonderful permanent collection, ranging many periods and movements, but it was the current extensive exhibit of works by Boulder, Colorado mixed-media artist Terry Maker that just stunned me, my wife, and my son.

In order to do her work justice, the best way to describe Terry’s novel process, a process vaguely reminiscent of millefiori, is to quote her About page:

By utilizing resin, a material new to her process, and commonplace domestic objects, Maker composes and assembles elements including plates, straws, vinyl record shards, jawbreakers and more into large, resin-poured solid blocks. The artist then slices through the amply cured forms using an industrial band saw revealing her chosen cross-sections. The different and surprising views of the embedded objects sometimes identifiable, often not, present the viewer with a visual puzzle and further exploration of the artist’s unusual visual vocabulary symbolizing desire. With Maker’s process of cutting into the resulting block of amalgamated materials, she revitalizes the objects and reassigns new meaning. Revealed in the artist’s quest to investigate a new way of mark-making, “Slice” alludes to the cyclical human state of “wanting” –desire exposing layers immediate and inaccessible and offering insights both visual and metaphoric.

The lede photo above is a detail of a larger piece, made of resin and magic markers, titled “Point”. Upon inspection, as you consider the information about the materials and the process, a gradual awareness emerges of just what it is you’re looking at. As much as, if not more than, any art I’ve seen over the years, Maker’s work compels you to view it from varying distances and angles, making the visit to the gallery a continuous exercise in curiosity and revelation.

Sadly, photos just can’t capture the totality of the Terry Maker experience, so if you ever get a chance to see her work in person I highly recommend that you jump at the opportunity. Otherwise, it will be at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center through June 3, 2012.

Here are some of my faves (Be sure to click on the images to enlarge!):

"Point" - resin, magic markers

"Magic Marks" - resin, magic markers, pens, pencils, erasers

"Akeldama" - resin, drinking straws, shredded church documents

"Akeldama" (detail) - resin, drinking straws, shredded church documents

"Collection Plate" - resin, church documents, shredded money

"Collection Plate" (detail) - resin, church documents, shredded money

"Drool" (detail) - resin, jawbreaker candy, anatomical skulls

Eyecatchers: Sam3

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It can be thrilling to discover the works of an artist previously unknown to you, and this is absolutely the case with street artist Sam3.

I haven’t been blown away like this by street art in a long time, mostly because so much of it, in my opinion, is derivative, with all the many Banksy wannabees out there.

But this guy’s stuff is amazing, like Matisse cutouts on a giant scale, with a little surrealism mixed in, and most appealing, to me, a distinct touch of sweetness that is often missing in the edgy world of street art.

As is common with street artists, there’s not much information about Sam3 online. The only thing I could find was a brief interview with him. It’s clear he’s European, but besides the fact that he’s obviously an incredible talent, that’s about all I know.

Anyway, Street Art Utopia has a large sample of his work, and there’s Sam3′s website, of course.

Here are some of my favorites: