Remedios Varo, Spanish-American Surrealist, 1908-1963

I recall seeing an exhibit of Remedios Varo's work in Chicago years ago - probably upwards of 7 or so (yes, I am that old).  At the time, I had never seen a surrealism quite like hers, and...so much of it!  so much work and so many pieces!!  This still holds true today, as does her function as a continual inspiration and exasperating example of cryptic, magical aesthetic combination...

Remedios Varo, Spanish-American Surrealist, 1908-1963

... not to mention, as an example of an incredible understanding and manipulation of the mysteries of interior vs. exterior - and the delicate, danceful intertwining of the two.  and this is meant in all ways: metaphorically and literally, psychic interior and psychic exterior, spacial "inside" and spacial "outside"

Getting Tattooed...

I had the luck to get tattooed today.  By a friend - great image: a polynesian/samoan man with face tattoos, but "civilized" with bowler hat, feather, fancy stache, and rose.  Traditional style.  I like the idea: modern savage, one primal but caught - happily or not - in the trappings of civilization.  Today was just outline and shading, but I am stoked to get it all finished.  Am trying a new healing method: wrapping it with A&D the first two nights.  I am assuming this helps healing via bedtime vitamin infusion.  So, we'll see how goes...

The west, the desert, and Native American images continue to enthrall me.  I must make it a point to read up on my history of such things, in addition to enjoying the wonderful visual vocabulary associated with this time & place.  And, on a similar note, I will be planning out a larger rib-tattoo for myself - a bucking horse with or without rider.  We are thinking of perhaps a chief or warrior with hatchet, but who knows what the final image will indeed embody.

Regardless, this image below (culled from another's blog) is both inspiring and captivating:

Robert Ryan

http://www.chunksaah.com/sanitaryelectric/tattoo.html

The magical world of Robert Ryan... there are not enough words, so I'll leave it at that - his work will speak for itself.  This man is a tattooer as well, but his images - as tattoos or not - function on there own as an art infinite and idiosyncratic, deserving of adoration and all the joys of religious ritual and psychedelic expanse.  

He is out in Bradley Beach, N.J., a good ol' shore-town which is a skip or two from famed Asbury Park.  Another one on my list of those to get tattooed bye... or perhaps purchase a painting or five.  If I could open up a mutual fund solely in order to create a Robert Ryan collection of my own, oh fer' surely I would.

and more panel painting from the Getty...

--------------------- THE GETTY, LA. HANGIN' WITH THE OL' TIMERS ---------------------------------

While visiting my good friend in Los Angeles this past September, I spent an entire morning & afternoon happily treading along the sunny unconfined confines of the Getty Museum.  I say 'un' because this museum's ability to have its interior and exterior (inside - where the art is and outside - where nature's art is) interact and flow is quite successful and enjoyable.  It reminds me of the museums of Southern Europe: hillside semi-tropical locales where sky and window merge and outdoor/natural light acts as a key player in the drama of the artworks.  This is as opposed to many, say Northeast U.S. museums (save parts of the MET and some other spaces), where the spaces are dark and cavernous and infused with artificial everything.  There are appeals to this kind of set-up, but there seem to be even more appeals to something like the Getty - especially on a wonderfully bright warm, but not too hot kinda L.A. day...

But, I digress: let's talk about panel painting.  This stuff was never a big fave amongst my college art history teachers.  It was always kinda blown past en route to the High Rennaisance with its Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle names, but, nowadays I find its sense of the decorative, its flatness, and its naivete infinitely endearing.  Ornament weaves through strange, abstracted spaces and framing devices create worlds within worlds within worlds.  I don't care about the (Biblical) themes, to be honest - but the formal devices investigated during this time period - their folky magic - hypnotize me.  Although, I do suppose the religious themes do instigate this "magic" - the angels, the bolts of lightning from above, the halo's and gold-leafed auras.  The frames and their folded out/citied structures make these pieces less paintings and moreover ritual devices.  This, i am immensely interested in... and some of the attention to decorative detail - check out that cloth pattern in the last pic of my first post!!  Total wowsertown...

Italian Early-Pre Renaissance panel painting at the Getty, LA, CA