Found Art – Page 9

When Fish Become Abstract Art

December 31, 2016 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) The watchful eye of a deep sea Cuttlefish. Shot by Lori Pond via iPhone at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Somewhere between sea monster and masterpiece.

My artist friend Lori Pond recently made a quick trek up north and came back with some astonishing images. Creatures from the deep sea, providing gestures, texture, and color that accomplished painters would kill to create.

Lori said she had a magical moment with a Cuttlefish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Pic #1), when she cozied up to the glass — and he bellied up to the babe. He was less than 2-feet long, and that’s his eye dead center in the photo. Experts say these curiosities only live about 18 months, and they are described as “very emotional.” I am so taken by this close-up, with all its interesting patterns and visual gifts. Even his curvy black eye could pass for a Matisse paper cut-out.

(Pic #2) Close-up, Blue Jelly. Photo by Lori Pond.

Technically, Cuttlefish are not fish — they are marine animals of the order “Sepiida,” and belong to the class “Cephalopoda,” which includes squid, octopuses and nautiluses. They have eight arms, and they hold the record for fastest color change — shifting hue in an instant — given a perceived yasmin threat. They have amazing eyesight, and can shoot out ink; they have jet propulsion, stalk their prey sideways, and are master hunters. I think I’m in love.

The Blue Jellyfish Lori captured are just as beautiful, from an artistic standpoint. (Pic #2) They give me a sense of floating flowers with fresh young petals reaching out toward the sun. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says jellies are the biggest attraction for its two million visitors a year. And for those who can’t make it, they provide a 24/7 LIVE JELLY CAM.

Art inspired by nature is nothing new. Lori says she pays homage to iconic illustrator/biologist Ernst Haeckel with every shot she took. (You may recognize his style in Pic #7.) I think the beauty lies in the unexpected — the detail on a fin or a face, the neon lights emerging from a jelly’s belly like iridescent spaceships. Once again, whether she knows it or not, nature surrounds us — and supplies us — with an infinite source of creativity.

(Pic #2 and #3) Jellies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photos by Lori Pond.

(Pic #5) “Reflective Jellies.” Photo by Lori Pond. Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon.

(Pic #7) Victorian era illustration, Jellyfish, by Ernst Haeckel.

So What Does My Smog Check Have In Common With Michelangelo?

November 30, 2016 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Detail, Creation of Adam, ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome, 1508-1512. Fresco by Michelangelo. Or is it?

Notice anything odd about the iconic Renaissance painting above?

Hey history buffs: Is it possible Italian master sculptor/painter Michelangelo stopped in to get his car smog checked just before he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? I mean, is it at all conceivable? Hear me out.

On my own recent mandatory visit to the Smog Shop, I found myself so hateful of having to be there, and stay there, that I took out my camera to “play” in the waiting room. My eyes fixated on these beautiful patterns and marks in the old painted, cracked, cement floor. All these gorgeous textures and colors — I was mesmerized. (Pics #2, #3, #4, #5). I suddenly realized why they were so meaningful to me: they were (unplanned) modern day recreations of background (sky) images in famous tramadol historical “frescoes” like those of Michelangelo.

So for the fun of it, with the help of Photoshop, I replaced the original crumbling sky in the “Creation of Adam” panel (Pic #6) with a shot of the Smog Shop floor. (Pic #2). So Pic #1 is a fraud.

I hope Michelangelo doesn’t mind my messing with his masterpiece — I suspect he’s cool with it — cuz after all, he’s the one who famously said, “I’m not a painter, I’m a sculptor.”

P.S. – Big fan of his in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

(Pic #2) Detail, smog shop floor, waiting room.

(Pic #3 and #4) Detail, smog shop floor, cashier line. Yes, those are my toes.

(Pic #5) Detail, smog shop floor, restroom.

(Pic #6) Original image, authentic background, Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel.

(Pic #7) Smog shop in Westlake, California.

Yeah, Museums Are Cool, But…Brooklyn Streets Totally Crush It

September 30, 2016 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Detail from an elaborate block-long mural in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn

The streets of Brooklyn offer miles and miles of eye-popping art and design — and it’s all free to see.

Last week I mentioned to the concierge at my hotel in NYC that I was a fan of really good graffiti, and he said, “Brooklyn has the best.” As an exceptional concierge should, he nailed it. There wasn’t nearly enough time, but he guided me through blocks and blocks of pure Brooklyn creativity. Wall after wall — covered with clever works of art — or, in some cases, freestyle vandalism.

Oddly, I find myself drawn to the layers of defacing as much as the beautiful renderings underneath. To me, the more “in your face,” the better. I was as fascinated by the trashed up doorways (see below) as I was with the well-planned, strategically designed, site specific ambien murals, like the one above. I totally love the way artists incorporate electrical boxes, window sills, air conditioners, and unkempt cables into their overall compositions. Sometimes, it’s even hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. (See “Trompe L’oeil”).

Bushwick has long been a working class neighborhood, and now it is suddenly cool. And colorful. Dozens of art studios and galleries pepper the neighborhood, and much of the public art you see on the street is created by the artists in “The Bushwick Collective,” an open-air gallery of street art centered at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and Troutman Street.

Check out the “walking tours” and self-guided apps — Brooklyn just may be the hottest place to see great art. Click here for more on the “Walking tour of Bushwick street art” Click here to view the “Self-guided (app) tour.” From poignant and political, to simply whimsical — prepare to be blown away.

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