Archive for the ‘art’ tag

Allen Vandever art post "Weight of the City"

Weight of the City Acrylic, Epoxy Resin by Allen Vandever

She is bound and falling deeper into the chasm of her despair. The glow of the city lights illuminates this dark scene, making a display of her suffering as she falls deeper into the vast depths of loneliness. She goes down blind to the glorious vision of the world before her. She is stripped of control, but our heroine descends placidly, for she knows the entire city is underwater being pulled into the mouth of the same abyss.

Allen Vandever art post "Dreaming of Childhood "

Dreaming of Childhood Acrylic, Epoxy Resin by Allen Vandever

After a long evening of uninspiring gallery openings, I felt frustrated and unfulfilled. The first area of galleries exhibited a strong control over composition and craft, while the second area seemed to focus on creative self-expression, neither, however, really offered anything challenging or compelling. That night, I meditated on my reactions before falling into a deep sleep. This is one piece in a series that recreates the images of my dreams from that night.

Allen Vandever Art Post "Disco"

Disco Acrylic, Epoxy Resin by Allen Vandever

I relinquish conscious control over my limbs, my mind drifts back into the periphery, allowing a primal call to create the motions of my body. The mind becomes quiet, and I behold the glorious interweaving patterns and colors breathing and colliding in vivid translucence. My skin ignites with burning energy, growing hotter and hotter until I burst into flames. My body extends out to the furthest reaches of the flames, where I burn even hotter, fueling the conflagration. Steadily, I become a pillar of flame, ascending higher and higher over the earth. And from this height, I have the vision of a million worlds.

When the mind and body ascend into another plane of sight and existence, the sensations are beyond what is conceivable in the existing material world, so the words fail me, and I can only describe it as ‘other-worldly.’ In my experience, I have been able to reach this lucidity through direct mental meditation-in a waking or dreaming state, indirect meditation-often brought upon by the trance-inducing power of sex or dance, and with the use of psychedelic drugs. All have played a profound role in weaving my transcendental experience, guiding me to realize the infinitely complex dimensions of the human mind and spirit.

Evolution of NYC Public Library Logo

Explosive Art: ‘Big Bang’

Michael Marcovici is a Vienna-based artist who has created this interesting ‘Big Bang’ series of paintings [more paintings can be found on his site]. Marcovici has essentially created paint-filled explosives, which he set up so they create these dynamic spray patterns. A fine-lined grid is then drawn, to contrast the randomness of the explosive ink.

First I built the explosives. Then I fitted them in a glass tube and filled the tube with Rotring india ink, my favorite type of ink. For each painting I used one to four of these ink bombs. I attached them to a metal sheet or to a strong piece of wood placed on top of the paper, then set them on fire. That way, the works were created within the split second of the explosion.

.:via->ARTMARCOVICI

Allen Vandever art post "Wind Dancer"

Wind Dancer Acrylic, Epoxy Resin by Allen Vandever

I have painted her in my presence many times before, but only through solitary reflection have I been able to capture the haunting mystery of my muse’s gaze. Only in quiet brushstrokes have I been able to capture the contours of her hips and the curvature of her waist, merging in the hypnosis of her dance. The rhythm pulls her this way, then that, the richness of sound is given form through the motions of her arms and the swaying of her shoulders. She flows like a willow tree in the wind, her body submitting to the elemental forces. But, as she manifests an image of the music, her face is languidly detached, unaware of the power of her loins and the art in her movement.

When she looks upon her reflection she does not see the vast countryside spanning unhindered over the plains of her neck, down her collarbone, through her sternum. She does not notice her amber-glowing skin stretched across the lines of her being, like a hide stretched across the body of a drum, stirring her into life. She has a strange fixation, a birthmark, as much a part of her as her nose and lips, but to her a curse confining her in isolation. Her body has the power to make even humdrum pieces of music profoundly brilliant, but I will forever contemplate her eyes, which have the power to express her lonely struggle and the quiet despair of her soul.

Finger Modeling?

This is just absolutely RIDICULOUS. I mean, my ninjas PLEASE - at this year’s Japan Fashion Week [9th annual], this was actually some kind of show/presentation.

Really, this should probably count as our Japanese Video of the Week.

.:via->design dummy

Chicago Art Show

An Exhibition of Selected Works by Allen Vandever

Friday, November 13th 2009

Begins 6 pm, but will most likely extend late into the evening

Caffe Baci - 225 W Wacker (West & slightly North of "L" and subway stops on Lake St)

Free Admission, 21+ Drinks available, but at an additional charge

Allen Vandever art post "Self-Punishment"

Self-Punishment Acrylic, Epoxy Resin by Allen Vandever

This painting captures a moment when conscious and subconscious thought, converge in a lucid-dream state. The forest is vibrant with life and natural splendor, desires frolic naked among the trees, but a ghostly oppressor strikes disguised in the colors and forms of our heroine’s dream. Disgusting girl! Your thoughts are depraved, vile, animalistic! So powerful is the sadist-translucent that we cannot escape its grip even in our dreams. This frustration, pain, and fear of punishment deny us the ecstasy of fulfilling our true desires. Often, it is subtler, simply preventing us from discovering what our desires truly are.

When I think upon the progress of Modern Man, I am mesmerized by our accomplishments, but through our society’s progress many of our values have taken on the status of rigid, factual nomenclature, limiting the possibilities of personalized self-discovery. This translucent boundary prevents us from freely creating and exploring dimensions for our own experiences, stifling our potential to bring further enlightenment to the collective conscience. As creatures amidst our own modernity, we cannot be blind-sighted by relative comfort; we must continue the struggle for progress. So, in my pursuit to bring this struggle to light, I embarked on this painting hoping to portray how beautiful such freedom could be.