Flatlas

For several millennia, flat earthers have been without strong support for their worldview and now, finally Flatlas is here. The figure of Flatlas, a mythical cousin of Atlas, kneels on an orb and balances a flat earth map above his head.

Flatlas, copper, clay and  wood
Flatlas, copper, clay and wood

Inspired by art history and ancient myths and legends, Flatlas, is constructed from air dried clay, painted with fake copper paint. Balanced precariously above his head is a hand etched and weathered real copper engraving of a world map. Flatlas is supported by a reclaimed wooden post and he sinks into a turned globe giving an inversion of the traditional Atlas sculpture.

Flatlas, copper, clay and  wood
Flatlas, copper, clay and wood
Flatlas, copper, clay and  wood
Flatlas, copper, clay and wood

Flatlas is being exhibited in the Ashburton Society of Arts 60th Annual Exhibition at Ashburton Art Gallery from 1-26 July 2024.

Face the drama

What will you face today?

Choose your drama: Tragic Comedy or Comedic Tragedy

Face the Drama – Tragedy, acrylic on wooden disc
Face the Drama – Comedy, acrylic on wooden disc

At the Ashburton Society of the Arts’ Monday Art and Craft group, we each received a wooden disc and were challenged to create something with the theme of faces. Above is my contribution, based on ancient theatre masks, with the faces painted on each face of the disc and “Choose your drama: Tragic Comedy or Comedic Tragedy” written, with my signature, on the edge.

This artwork is also practical. For those who struggle with procrastination, it doubles as a huge coin when you need help deciding how to face the drama of the day. Will your day be tragic or comedic or both?

This painting is currently in the exhibition at the Ashburton Society of the Arts‘ Summer Exhibition (21 Feb – 21 March 2021).

Clairmont, inspired by Clairmont’s The Chair

The Ashburton Art Gallery currently has an exhibit of Mount Hutt College Year 10 Students’ work inspired by The Chair by Philip Clairmont. We went to the opening of this exhibit and it was fascinating see the work and to hear how the students had developed the work.

The gallery has the original of The Chair also on display and is running an activity for the public to submit their own artwork inspired by The Chair. Below is my submission based on Clairmont’s work and the Clairmont Swivel/Rocker Chair by Kincaid Furniture Company, Inc.

Clairmont, Fineliner pen on card, 147x210mm
Clairmont, Fineliner pen on card, 147x210mm

This is not a banana

This is not a banana, graphite pencil on paper (148 x 210 mm).

Like René Magritte’s The treachery of images (This is not a pipe), this is also not a pipe. But it is not a banana. It is a digital photograph of a pencil sketch of a duct tape sculpture of a banana.

This is not a banana either

This is not a banana either, colored pencil on paper (148 x 210 mm).

It is a digital photograph of a colored pencil sketch of a print of a photograph of a banana.

Duct tape banana

Duct tape banana, politape, 145x80mm
Duct tape banana, politape, 145x80mm

In response to media surrounding Maurizio Cattelan’s work, “Comedian”, I have created this expression of a banana. Some media reports are incorrectly labelling Maurizio’s work as a duct tape banana when, in fact, it should be labelled duct taped banana.

My work is fastened to the wall with “blu tack”, some of which is not blue.

Is it duct tape or duck tape? This yellow tape is similar in color to that of a yellow rubber duckie. The tape used in this sculpture is branded Politape was purchased from a “dollar” store.

The banana that served as the model was also purchased from a discount store. The banana used in the production of this sculpture was later unknowingly eaten by my son.

Taking The Mickey

Theo does quite a bit of “Taking The Mickey” in his art. 

Here he takes the mickey out of Andy Warhol’s, 1981, Quadrant Mickey Mouse/Myths.

Taking The Mickey
Taking The Mickey, Digital image

The Collins English Dictionary has these definitions:

The Urban Dictionary has this definition:

Taking the mickey

Joking, doing something without intent.

Making fun of someone or something.

A less offensive way of saying taking the piss.

Virgin and Child #1

Virgin and child #1
A small canvas on a larger virgin canvas

Inspired by Ron Tekawa’s Madonna and Child (1990) and various historical images of the Virgin and Child. 

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Vitruvian Stained (“Lumo” Vitruviano)

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a pioneer of the hospice care movement, said

‘People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.’

Vitruvian Stained (“Lumo” Vitruviano)
An imagination of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man as a stained glass image

Ten to talk about in hushed tones

Ten to talk about in hushed tones
Ten to talk about in hushed tones, digital image

Featuring rectangles from the following works:
Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci, 1517)
The Scream (Edvard Munch, 1893)
The Starry Night (Vincent van Gogh, 1889)
The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci, 1498)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Johannes Vermeer, 1665)
The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo, 1512)
The Persistence of Memory (Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1931)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Georges Seurat, 1886)
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Hokusai, 1832)
Guernica (Pablo Picasso, 1937)

Shop open

Society6 shop

Prints of 40 Most Mentioned are now available from our Society6 shop in various formats including framed and canvas prints, stationery cards, and phone/tablet/laptop skins.