New Eclectix Interview With Dean McDowell

"Dean is an exceptional newbrow artist who has shown works with Eclectix in the past. His acrylic portraits have a wonderfully deep base of fleshy, thick textures and layered strokes, hints of mummy wrappings. The images evoke emotion, red eyed from crying, some bruised and bloodied by life or it’s vampires, some lipstick smeared and hinting of violent encounters. They may have been victims, hardened by abuse; becoming cold and indifferent as a form of self-defense and survival. In spite of it all, beautiful and sensual colors bleed through, and a strong and silent resolve seems to mature..."

For more images and the entire interview with Dean click here.

Pumpkins!

Okay, a day late... but that doesn't spoil the artistry of these pumpkins. First are the incredible carvings of Ray Villafane (Via Street Anatomy)...

And second, (below) are these great pumpkins sent to me from Oregon, carver unknown, photographer: Chuck Mitchell.

Amy Kollar Anderson's New Mural, Progress Shots

Amy just completed this uplifting and fun mural and sent a link to her step-by-step blog. Nice to see all the layers and progress during the process. I love the little olive bulb flowers...

Visit it here.

And below is a killer new work from her site, titled Intoxicating...
and it certainly is!

It's Coming! Those Nightmares Before Xmas...

"Famine" by Dan Harding

You had to know Eclectix couldn't let Halloween get by without partaking  in the witch's brew of all the wonderful dark and bloody art out there. We decided to start the screams right when all the muzak carols begin to invade, putting out pumpkins instead of Santa. So to get you thru the looming holidaze, Volume 5 will bring lots of scary monsters and super freaks to lighten the Hallmark load. And this issue packs a double whammy with some killer Day of the Dead art as well... 
Right up until 2011 takes over, 'cause 

"it's the most wonderful time of the year".

New Works by the Pumpkin King - Sean Chappell

Just got in some new art here at Eclectix from the esteemed master of more than crazed pumpkins, Sean Chappell. 

Great stuff! For info on his pieces go here.

Don't these just rock?

And you may remember this one from the Dementions exhibit.

BookNook: "Rat Girl", A Darn Good Read

Rat Girl by Kristin Hersh, Penguin

If you were or are a Throwing Muses fan, (like me), Kristin is it’s prolific founder. Her name jumped out at me from the bookstore shelf; didn’t even know she had written a book!  

Foto: Dina Douglass, via Boston.com

I am a little more than halfway thru Rat Girl and loving every invented word in it! Very well written, almost in prose, it details Kristin’s 18th year, based on her old diary. From squatting in abandoned buildings to mental health issues; the colors of her song writing fever, to the alienation familiar to all who live on the fringe; this book has laughs, sarcasm, emotion and wit. Intelligent and insightful, quirky observations of a true artist about life in all it’s darks and light. Funny, vivid and interesting takes on performing in the small club scene, without the unnecessary rock star name dropping. Pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down. 

The book cover by, Gilbert Hernandez, ain't too shabby either!

The Throwing Muses, via LastFM

TED Award Goes To Well Deserved Street Artist JR

Public artist JR (anon for obvious reasons) has been awarded the highly prestigious TED prize for 2011. The $100,000 prize money is matched by the winner being asked to make one wish to change the world. 

About the artist JR and his wonderful works-
In 2006, he launched “Portrait of a Generation,” huge-format portraits of suburban “thugs” from Paris’ notorious banlieues, posted on the walls of the bourgeois districts of Paris. This illegal project became official when Paris City Hall wrapped its own building in JR’s photos.

In 2007, with business partner Marco, he did “Face 2 Face,” which some consider the biggest illegal photo exhibition ever. JR and a grassroots team of community members posted huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, and on the both sides of the security fence/separation barrier. He embarked on a long international trip in 2008 for his exhibition “Women Are Heroes,” a project underlining the dignity of women who are the target of conflict. In 2010, the film Women Are Heroes was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and received a long-standing ovation.  - Via TED

For one project, JR created portraits of ghetto inhabitants of the suburbs of Paris – the scene of riots in recent years – and installed them on the walls in the city centre. In doing so, he aims to provoke and question the social and media-led representations of such events. JR's work often challenges widely held preconceptions and the reductive images propagated by advertising and the media. - Via Tate Modern

His work with Palestinian and Israeli citizens explored the similarities of their daily lives, rather than focusing on the ever present divide, highlighting fundamental human emotions. Israelis and Palestinians doing the same job – such as taxi drivers, teachers and cooks – agreed to be photographed crying, laughing, shouting and making faces. Their portraits were posted face-to-face, in huge formats in an unauthorised project, on both sides of the separation wall [security fence] and in several cities, demonstrating that art and laughter can challenge stereotypes. For his new project about women in post-conflict situations and the Third World, JR has already travelled to Sudan, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and is planning to visit India, Asia and South America. - Via Tate Modern

 ...the artist wrapped, very appropriately, the French Embassy in Phnom Penh with 20 sets of women’s eyes culled from his recent photography portfolio that portrays ordinary women around the world—many of whom work as prostitutes in war-torn countries. JR shot this series using a wide-angle 28mm lens that forces an extreme close-up between photographer and subject, resulting in portraits marked by their uncanny intimacy and extreme detail. A truly egalitarian artist whose career focus has been bringing art out of the gallery and onto the streets for the average person to appreciate, often in impoverished areas where local interaction with formal art is nonexistent, JR remains guarded when pressed about the true meaning of his work: “I put [my work] on the street, and sometimes people try to find the exact meaning, but there isn’t one. They have to think about it. Most of the time, [my subjects] have to explain the project much more than I do. After all, they are the ones posted up in the street. They are the real heroes of the project.”  - Via SuperTouch

Sources: Tate Modern, SuperTouch Art, BoingBoing

Jammin' Johns: Do Your Dirty Deed in Style

From the Incredible Things blog comes a great link to some musical toilet seats. Beautifully done accents for that musician who thought they had everything... The artist and maker is Marvin Maxwell, a Kentucky music store owner. They're music to your rears.... 

Link to Jammin' Johns