Inspiration for "Beauty in Death"

While in college I began exploring making my viewers uncomfortable with my work. I was stretching my figures in bizarre ways and painting my flesh to look bruised. It wasn't for shock value like I'm seeing with a lot of artists nowadays, but more a way to make them cringe and think. I've been contemplating my next project and I think I'm going to continue on the path of macabre and uneasiness.

Here are a things I have printed out and hanging up on my inspiration wall here in my studio:

 Michael Shapcott, Mother's Hands

 Michael Shapcott, A Song to Keep us Warm

The works of contemporary artist, Michael Shapcott, have been a source of inspiration for me for quite some time. I really enjoy the bodily distortion he adds to his work. It reminds me a lot of my own although his tend to be a bit more elegant- although that could just be the way he goes about his faces. They're always so beautiful and defined. His distortions and messy paint handling also reminds me a bit of Egon Schiele.

Joel-Peter Witkin, Interpreted Reading, Paris.

Witkin is, by far, my favorite photographer. His work embodies a lot of what I want to get across in this next project. He gets a lot of flak for his controversial pieces, but their beauty is undeniable.

 

Marina Bychkova, Skylar

These dolls are stunning. Each one has life breathed into them and I can almost sense a bit of sadness- as if they know they're dolls. Dolls fascinate and scare me almost as much as the concept of Death. Honestly, I think I watched Puppet Masters and Child's Play one too many times as a kid.

The famous "ectoplasm" photos from the 1920's have recently earned my attention. I hadn't ever seen these photographs until recently and I was immediately entranced by how beautiful, strange and disturbing many of them looked.

I will probably add more seeing as how I have several shoe boxes full of printed pictures that I could easily use as inspiration for this project. But for the time being these are my main sources.

Wish me luck on this upcoming project!