Sunday, October 21

one million skull paintings

"Deathmask for Andy Goldsworthy"


When I was in Chelsea last month with Aaron Gerth he informed me that the theme of September had been skulls (the next theme, he confided, was: Quarries [you heard it here first!]). The grandaddy of skullshows, it turned out, was still up at Cheim and Read when I stopped by giving weight to Aaron's facts:

"I Am as You Will Be: The Skeleton in Art"
Bones everywhere! I decided I still like Donald Baechler (large painting in middle).
Is it a bandwagon theme hitching to the Damian Hirst hype...or an early Halloween celebration? I'm betting on B, no one wants to be seen as caring about A:

So I was tempted to wait til Halloween to post my own skull art, it seeming fitting, but I still need to talk about volcanoes so, here's your skull.


This close-up on the eyesocket shows the paper I found up the hill from the river.

Bundles of handwritten receipts from a local hardwarestore that went out of business this year. I guess they prefer throwing their tax records in their backyard forest in Vermont. They were moist and rotting and stuck together. This detail changed a potentially easy and pleasant project into a stinky, slimy, and cold one. I think i just described a salamander (I have seen two tiny ones underneath river rocks here).

Anyway, I love Andy Goldsworthy, (in fact, we all just watched "Rivers and Tides" here at the studio center before this blog entry) but I had to use paper instead of leaves or moss so that he would turn over in his proverbial grave. Can I reverence my heroes through irreverence? It seems like a solution.

And here is a view approaching from downstream the Ghion River

Ah, Vermont.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rivers and tides is a great film. The part when he talks about the eerie rock is very heavy. Do you know the part I'm talking about? I think its in the beginning. Anyway, i really liked what you have done. rock on! -pun intended.

Benihaana said...

hey, I just read your thesis, I enjoyed the chapter format, it seemed to simultaneously coherent and progressive, yet it allowed the individuality of each section to seep and settle like chapters should. I am currently writing a statement of intent for the Sculpture M.F.A. and I wondered if I could look at yours as a sample or if you know anyone else who has theirs?

Anonymous said...

Your work is really cool! My friend has a link to your blog on her page, and I'm so glad I clicked it! Seriously, the skull is beautiful.