symbolic suicide - Bert Green Fine Art

John Abrahamson Flesh&Blood Los Angeles
SYMBOLIC SUICIDE
We all have a little evil voice living inside us that at times tells us to do things
we shouldn’t. Artist John U. Abrahamson (JUA) listened to that voice and took
a journey of survival, pain and reflection. As you view his work and those uneasy
feelings emerge, times them by a few million and you start to understand what
this artist lived and nearly died through to create his exhibition, Flesh and Blood.
JUA literally shed his own flesh and blood and purged himself into a life of pain
to create this series. Flesh and Blood could be perceived as a symbolic suicide.
He created a hanging prone human form comprised from 660 vials of his own
blood and 100 vials of skin suspended by fishing lines from a metal structure
hovering over his open journals. People were invited to tear up his writings and
take pages home with them – in essence to participate in the destruction of his
journals. This served as a metaphoric and transitional rite of passage, a rebirth for
John as an artist. JUA spoke about his personal journey, “The spiritual connection
it had for me and how I literally put myself into the work is hard to express.
I pushed myself in a way that was much like killing myself. In the beginning I thought
of it as a false suicide. I thought, I can’t kill myself, but this is as close as I can come.”
By destroying his journals and giving his blood to the point of compromising his
health, he honestly thought that the natural conclusion of the show would be
death. In the course of the progression, it became a much more spiritual journey.
Printed on Antalis HiQ Titan Plus Matt 250g/m2|cover| and 148g/m2|text|
The
issue
39
CIAŁO I SZTUKA
BODY & ART
BLOC)
John U. Abraha mson
Barany Artists Group
John U. Abraha mson
W matni ciała i krwi - The Crucible of Flesh & Blood
To avoid being mono-thematically
Żeby nie zanudzać monotemaboring, we decided to infuse this
tycznością tego wydania, postaissue with a breath of fresh air in
nowiliśmy sprawić, ażeby gazeta
the form of another edition of our
nabrała lekkiego oddechu w poart supplement “Body and Art”.
staci kolejnej edycji naszego doPeriodically, we diversify our tatdatku „Ciało i Sztuka”. Już nie raz
too-themed magazine to explore
urozmaicaliśmy treści o tatuażu
the ‘addiction’ to body art and
dodatkami z zakresu cielesności
other related activities focused
i związanej z nią sztuki. Nie inaon body awareness, and it won’t
czej będzie tym razem.
be different this time.
Przed Wami wywiad z Johnem
We share with you an interview
U. Abrahamsonem, kolejnym arwith John U. Abrahamson, yet
tystą z Barany Artists, grupy proanother artist from Barany Artists
wadzonej przez naszego stałego
group, spearheaded by our guest
współpracownika, nieodzownego
contributor, good friend and,
przyjaciela i przede wszystkim
above all, a man with a singular
wielkiego fascynata sztuki i rudoeye for great art and redheads,
włosych kobiet, Lesa Barany.
Leslie Barany.
Poniższy wywiad, jak i zaprezenThe following interview and series
towana przez Johna U. Abrahamof paintings by John U. Abrahamsona seria obrazów pt. „Flesh
son called „Flesh and Blood” are
and Blood” to tylko mały wycinek
just a small glimpse into the arttwórczości artysty, ściśle dopaist’s body of work, but perfectly
sowany do potrzeb aspektów
John U. Abrahamson
matched to the theme of our supciała i sztuki naszego dodatku.
plement, aspects of body and art.
Jest to wybór zaledwie kilku obIt is a selection of paintings and
razów oraz instalacji, którą John
installations presented by John
zaprezentował podczas jednej
in one of his latest exhibitions
ze swoich ostatnich wystaw pod
also called „Flesh and Blood” at
tym samym tytułem w Los Angethe Bert Green Fine Art Gallery
les w Bert Green Fine Art Gallein Los Angeles, in March this year.
ry w marcu tego roku. Trochę nam
It’s a pity we don’t have the space
żal, że nie udało się zaprezentoin this issue to present more of this fasciwać większej ilości prac tego niezmiernie
nating artist’s extensive body of work and
interesującego i płodnego twórcy ani dłużej
delve further into various topics. But we hope nothing
porozmawiać na inne tematy. Ale miejmy nadzieis lost and one day we can meet John again within
ję, że nic straconego i jeszcze kiedyś uda nam
the pages of our magazine to further admire his art.
się ponownie docenić talent artysty. Ale przedIn the meanwhile, roll a joint and visit johnua.com,
tem, skręćcie jointa i odwiedźcie johnua.com,
fleshendblood.blogspot.com and BaranyArtists.com.
fleshendblood.blogspot.com i BaranyArtists.com
Totentanz, 2010
Oil on Gessoed Print Paper, 22.5 x 20”
– Jedni artyści wielbią piękno ludzkiego ciała, innych pociąga groteska tkanki, jeszcze inni w ogóle unikają odniesień
do cielesności. Co sprawia, że przedkładasz niezdrową, patologiczną część człowieczej materii nad żywe i atrakcyjne
piękno?
– Właściwie to przez większą część mojej kariery skupiałem się
na pięknie ludzkiego ciała, choć ciała te były co prawda rozerotyzowane i umęczone. Charakter moich prac determinowany
jest przez ich temat przewodni. Po to, by jak najlepiej oddać
to, co chcę przekazać. W serii „Fallen Angels” (Upadłe Anioły
– przyp. tłum.) postaci były malowane po to, by jak najlepiej ukazać powiązane ze sobą potępienie, piękno, miłość i ból. Serią
„Flesh and Blood” (Ciało i Krew – przyp. tłum.) chciałem wyrazić
gnuśność, pustkę i rozkład tak mocno obecne wtedy w moim
życiu. Idealne ciała po prostu nie pasowałyby do moich ówczesnych koncepcji.
– Gdzie znajdujesz inspirację? Co nakręca cię do tworzenia?
Co szczególnie cieszy twoje oczy?
– Inspiracją jest dla mnie wszystko. Biorę z otoczenia tyle, ile tylko
mogę. Nigdy nie wiem, czy niewielka rzecz, która zwróciła moją
uwagę, nie stanie się zaczątkiem artystycznych odkryć. Iskra natchnienia to zazwyczaj połączenie wielu nie związanych ze sobą
obrazów. Jednak u podstaw leży moja fascynacja twórczością
H.R. Gigera, Francisa Bacona i Roberta Motherwella.
Nakręca mnie nieprzemożna potrzeba tworzenia. Nie umiem
tego jasno wytłumaczyć. Najlepiej porównać to chyba do impulsu, który stłumiony bez wątpienia mógłby mnie zabić. Dosłownie. Odczuwam przymus wyrażania tego, co czuję jako człowiek,
przymus egzorcyzmowania moich własnych demonów. Wiem,
że nigdy się ich nie pozbędę, mogę natomiast pozwolić, by przemówiły.
Co mnie cieszy? Myślę, że w zależności od dnia odpowiem nieco
inaczej. Zawsze jednak perwersja, bluźnierstwo, mroczne zakamarki, o których inni nie chcą wiedzieć, ludzkie ciało, ikonografia,
instrumenty medyczne, literatura traktująca o dwoistości ludzkiej
natury, Szatan i te rzadkie chwile jasności i możliwości spojrzenia
w siebie, pozwalające musnąć pustkę. Podnieca mnie wszystko
to. I jeszcze porno, przynajmniej dzisiaj.
Scar Tissue, 2009
Oil on Gessoed Print Paper, 22.5 x 15”
– There are some artists who convey the beauty of the human
form, some dwell in the more grotesque nature of the flesh
and others that simply avoid using the human form at all. What
attracts you to the morbid aspects of the human body as apposed to painting still life or even more attractive body types?
– Actually, throughout most of my career I have portrayed more
idealized, albeit tortured, sexualized bodies. I choose my visual vocabulary specifically to express most accurately the themes of any
particular group of paintings. The “Fallen Angeles” series I wanted
to express damnation, beauty, love and pain all wrapped into one.
The forms were painted to reflect this. For the “Flesh and Blood”
series I wanted to show the sloth, waste, and decay I felt at this
point in my life. Perfect bodies would have been completely wrong
for my conceptual needs.
– Where do you find your inspiration? What gives you the drive
to create? What subjects excite you visually?
– Inspiration is found everywhere. I take in as much detail of my surroundings as I can. I never know what small visual detail I encounter will end up being the starting point for my artistic exploration.
Automatism allows the collection of stray images to form a spark
from which I work. The foundation however, lies in my studies of
Francis Bacon, and Robert Motherwell and H.R. Giger.
Drive, or the absolute need to create. This I cannot accurately explain. I have tried. It is best described, I suppose as an impulse that
if suppressed will undoubtedly kill me. I do not mean that metaphorically. I feel a compulsion to express the human condition,
to attempt self inflicted exorcism of my personal demons. The only
problem is that while I may give them voice, that doesn’t mean I am
able to purge them.
What kind of things excite me. I suppose I will give you a different
answer on different days but the perverse, the blasphemous, the
little dark corners that no one wants to see, the human body, religious iconography, medical instrumentation, literature that deals
with the duality of man, the Devil and the rare moments of clarity
and introspection that give me a small glimpse into the void. That
and porn is what excites me…today at any rate.
– Could you tell us a bit more about your work? I imagine most
viewers see the combination of sexualized forms and religious
113, 2009
Oil on Gessoed Print Paper, 12.25 x 10.25”
– Zastanawiam się, co myśli przeciętna osoba o autorze prac,
które wcześniej przedstawiały mieszankę seksualności i religijnych wizerunków, a obecnie ukazują torturowane ciała.
Od czego się zaczęła i jak się rozwijała tak różnie przedstawiana w twoich pracach fascynacja ludzką cielesnością?
– Od najmłodszych lat byłem seksualnie rozbudzany. Od pism
pornograficznych znajdowanych w piwnicy wujka, po zabawy
w doktora z dziewczynami z sąsiedztwa. Dodaj do tego wychowanie w duchu kościoła i głęboką wiarę, a otrzymasz kombinację
wstydu, pożądania, chuci i ciekawości. Gdy miałem siedem lat,
moja matka odeszła z innym mężczyzną, co sprawiło, że świat
wydał mi się jeszcze bardziej pokręcony i mroczny. Ciało zawsze
było dla mnie pewnym początkiem, sposobem na to, by w najlepszy sposób wyrazić wszystko to, o czym wspomniałem wcześniej.
– Sztuka chrześcijańska była zazwyczaj mało łaskawa dla
cielesności. Czy fakt, że byłeś kiedyś głęboko wierzący miał
wpływ na to, że dziś przedstawiasz w swoich pracach oszpecone lub umęczone postaci? Jak postrzegasz własne ciało?
Fly, 2009
Oil on Gessoed Print Paper, 10 x 10”
iconography of your previous and the tortured flesh of your
most recent work and wonder about the creator of such works.
Can you tell us how your fascination with flesh, as portrayed in
various forms throughout your work, developed?
– I was highly sexualized from a very young age. From pornography
I found hidden in the basement that we were storing for my Uncle
to the mutual body exploration with the girls in the neighborhood.
Mix this with the high mass Episcopalian Church I was brought up
in and then devoted my young life to and you have a great mix of
guilt, shame, desire, lust and curiosity. When my mother ran off
with another man abandoning my family when I was 7 that gave
the world I knew a much different and darker twist. I always saw the
flesh as a starting point, as the vehicle through which I could best
illuminate my thoughts regarding the aforementioned.
– Przede wszystkim muszę opowiedzieć o tym, jak na mnie,
wówczas młodego artystę, wpłynął H.R. Giger. Był rok 1981.
Uczęszczałem wtedy do School of the Art Institute w Chicago,
a Giger był na fali po Oskarze za efekty wizualne w „Alienie”
i publikacji obrazów z serii „Nowy Jork”. Po wykładzie Gigera
zabrałem kolegę na jedno z przedstawień, by móc spotkać go
osobiście. Prace Gigera wywarły na mnie takie samo wrażenie,
jak kilkanaście lat wcześniej sceny ukrzyżowania. Były równie
przepełnione seksualnością, a jednak mocniejsze w odbiorze niż
chrześcijański wizerunek półnagiego skrwawionego Chrystusa
na krzyżu i wyrastające raczej na potępieniu ciała i duszy niż ich
zbawieniu. Jego prace ostatecznie ukształtowały moje spojrzenie na cielesność i duchowość.
Dwadzieścia lat później dostałem maila od Christine Natanael
z magazynu „Crusher”, którą swego czasu często spotykałem
w fetish klubach, zanim jeszcze wyprowadziła się do Nowego Jorku. Christine szukała akurat ciekawego tematu do nowego numeru i zaproponowała, że napisze o mnie. Okazało się, że jest przyjaciółką Lesa Barany’ego (Les ma świetny gust, jeśli chodzi o znajomości) i wkrótce wysłała mu moje prace. Niedługo potem Les
przyjął mnie w poczet swojej grupy, a ja byłem tym wniebowzięty.
Agent H.R. Gigera był teraz moim agentem. Wspaniały ciąg zdarzeń zaowocował ogromnym zaszczytem. Sposobów, w jakie Les
wpłynął na moją karierę, nie sposób wymienić. Wiele książek, wystaw, aukcji, mnóstwo wsparcia, zachęty, kopów w tyłek, gdy tego
potrzebowałem. Jestem mu za to wszystko dożywotnio wdzięczny. Za to, że moje życie wkroczyło na zupełnie nowe tory.
tute of Chicago in 1981. Giger was just coming off his Oscar win for
Film Design for the movie Alien. His “New York” portfolio had just
been released. Me and a class mate of mine had seen him speak
at our school and then went to see his solo show to meet with
the man himself. To me, Giger’s work was the perfect compliment
to the image of the Crucifix of my youth. Giger’s work was just
as sexually charged, albeit more blatant than the tortured Christian imagery of a bloodied mostly naked Christ upon the cross,
yet pulled from the damnation of the body and soul rather than
it’s redemption. His work completed the circle of pre-established
sense of humanity and spirituality. Fast forward twenty years, I get
an email from Christine Natanael from Crusher Magazine. Seems
she was looking for artwork for the mag’s swag and came across
my work. Christine and I were doing a lot of the same fetish clubs
in San Francisco at the same time before she moved to New York.
She had heard of me from those days and featured me in her magazine. As it turned out, she was also friends with Les Barany (Les
always has the best taste in friends) and she sent him my info. After
a great back and forth between Les and I he took me into his family
of artists. I was blown away. H.R. Giger’s agent now represented
me. It was a wonderful turn of events in my life and I could not
have been more honored. The ways in which Les has advanced
my career are too numerous to mention here. The multitude of
books, shows, sales, encouragement, shoulder to lean on, kick in
the ass when I needed it, you name it Les has done that for me.
I am forever indebted to him on so many fronts. It put me in whole
different trajectory.
– Twoja sztuka to dla mnie jak gdyby sztuka wiwisekcji, sztuka kawału mięsa zawieszonego na haku. Widać to świetnie
w serii obrazów „Flesh and Blood”. Czy są jakieś tematy, których brzydziłbyś się namalować. Co jest dla ciebie wstrętne
w sztuce, np. w malarstwie?
– It appears that your work deals with issues of vivisection or
of hooked pieces of meat. Such images are clearly seen in the
“Flesh and Blood” painting series. Is there any subject you find
too disgusting to paint or incorporate in your artwork?
– Nic. Chociaż nie, odwołuję, co powiedziałem. Ostra pornografia. Myślę, że stonowane środki wyrazu są bardziej wymowne.
Ale to tylko moja opinia.
– Co sprawiło, że zdecydowałeś się na instalację „Flesh and
Blood” ? Po raz pierwszy wykorzystałeś własną krew w swojej twórczości, dlaczego?
– No. I take that back. Blatant pornographic imagery. I feel I would
like to speak with more subtle tones, but that is just me.
– Speaking of “Flesh and Blood”. Why did you decide to include an installation work in your latest series, as I believe
this is the first time you have done so. Let alone the use of
your own blood and flesh. What was the concept behind the
installation?
– History has shown that Christian imagery involving the flesh
was usually less than complimentary. Did your deeply religious
beginnings influence the ways you portray the sometimes ugly
or tortured forms? How does this correspond to your own
body image?
– Wizerunek ukrzyżowanego Chrystusa umierającego za nasze
grzechy chyba najmocniej wrył się w mój dziecięcy umysł. Ból,
cierpienie, poświęcenie, pewna seksualność, transcendencja,
duchowość, krew i ciało. Myślę, że cała moja twórczość wyrasta
z tego pierwszego, niezwykle mocnego wrażenia, jakie wywarł
na mnie kościół.
Jeśli natomiast pytasz o to, jak moje prace mają się do mojego
stosunku do własnego ciała, to muszę powiedzieć, że moja twórczość jest zawsze (albo prawie zawsze) autobiograficzna. To, jak
przedstawiam postaci w moich pracach, ma bezpośredni związek z tym, jak się czuję czy jak siebie postrzegam. „Flesh and
Blood” wyrosło na frustracji wynikającej ze starzenia się mojego
ciała zestawionego z narodzinami mego pierwszego i jedynego
syna. Maluję to, co czuję. A tak się właśnie wtedy czułem. Jak
ta religijność wpłynęła na mój stosunek do mojego ciała? Myślę,
że wręcz rozwinęła ona seksualną świadomość, zarówno jeśli
chodzi o moje ciało, jak i ciała innych. Jako dziecko zauważyłem
głęboki związek między umęczeniem i poświęceniem Chrystusa
a miłością i zbawieniem mojego ciała czy ludzkiej cielesności
w ogóle.
– The image of Christ upon the cross as the means to our salvation
from sin was probably the most influential image that was burned
into my young mind. Pain, suffering, sacrifice, an undertone of
sexuality, transcendence, spirituality, blood and flesh. My work can
all be traced back to that powerful first impression the Church imparted upon me.
As the work pertains to my own body image. The work is always
(mostly) autobiographical. The images of my figures are in direct
relation to my actual appearance or perceived appearance. Flesh
and Blood developed out of a rapid decline of my body from age
and neglect juxtaposed with the birth of my first and only born
son. I paint what I feel and that is how I felt. If you are asking how
my previous religiosity shaped my own body image, I would say
that it only heightened my sexual awareness to my own body and
that of others, As a child, I made the connection between the torture and sacrifice of Christ’s body as the ultimate in love and salvation to my own body and the human body in general.
– Jak stałeś się członkiem grupy Barany Artists? Jak bycie częścią tak znakomitej grupy artystów wpłynęło na twoją karierę?
– You have to first understand just how influential H.R.Giger was
to me as a young artist. I was attending the School of the Art Insti-
– How did you become involved with Barany Artists? Has your
inclusion in such a renowned stable of artists changed your
career? If so, how?
As a Lamb to Slaughter, 2010
Oil on paper, 22.5 x 20”
The Red Door, 2010
Oil on paper, 22.5 x 15”
Flesh and Blood Installation Sketch, 2009
Graphite on paper, 10 x 10”
– Pomysł instalacji narodził się podczas rozmów z Bertem Greenem, moim długoletnim przyjacielem i dyrektorem Bert Green
Fine Art w Los Angeles w Kalifornii. Bert chciał zobaczyć miejsce mojej przyszłej wystawy, zaplanowanej ma marzec 2010
roku. Był kwiecień 2009, a ja dopiero zaczynałem pracę nad wystawą. Gdy przyjechał, zastał kilka obrazów, biurko ze stosem
pamiętników spisanych przeze mnie przez ostatnich 15 lat oraz
kilka fiolek z krwią i naskórkiem, gromadzonych przez ostatnią
dekadę do projektu, który nigdy nie powstał. Całość spodobała się Bertowi, chociaż nie bardzo wiedział, jak zamierzam
wykorzystać pamiętniki. Moim pomysłem było wystawienie ich
na sprzedaż. Gdy Bert zapytał czemu, odpowiedziałem, że chcę
się pozbyć tych zapisków i uważam, że moja pierwsza od dziesięciu lat wystawa w Los Angeles jest do tego świetną okazją.
Wtedy Bert zaproponował, żebym zrezygnował z półśrodków
i cały się obnażył. Po przemyśleniu jego słów zdałem sobie
sprawę, że muszę wymyślić coś, co wspomoże ostateczny rozkład mojej pisaniny. W mniej niż godzinę miałem już w miarę
skrystalizowany pomysł. Ludzka postać (Ja) z mojej własnej
krwi i tkanki (nawiązanie do moich chrześcijańskich korzeni) zawieszona ponad stołem, pokrytym otwartymi pamiętnikami gotowymi do czytania czy zabierania. A wszystko to przesiąknięte
magią i metaforyką.
– Domyślam się, że zgromadzenie 660 fiolek własnej krwi
i tkanki było dość czasochłonne?
– I to jak! Kiedy pewnego dnia usiadłem i pomyślałem, ile krwi
i tkanki potrzebuję, by stworzyć trójwymiarową postać naturalnej wielkości, byłem zszokowany. Musiałem wziąć pod uwagę
ciężar przeciętnego mężczyzny, ilość krwi potrzebnej, by napełnić jedną fiolkę, rozplanować przestrzeń i w końcu ustalić liczbę
fiolek. W grę wchodziły litry krwi. Początkowo napełniałem fiolki
krwią z ran powstałych przy pracy. Zawsze miałem przy sobie
pustą fiolkę i malutki lejek, w razie gdybym skaleczył się dłutem,
co zresztą zdarzało się dość często. Ilość potrzebnej mi krwi była
jednak ogromna i wiedziałem, że mogę ją zgromadzić tylko przy
pomocy lekarza. Problem tkwił w tym, że żaden nawet nie chciał
Flesh and Blood Installation, 2010
Glass, wood, blood, skin, paper, steel, and other mixed media, 9 x 4 x 9”
– The idea for the installation was somewhat of a joint effort
between myself and Bert Green who is the director and long
time friend at Bert Green Fine Art in Los Angeles California. Bert
had come for a studio visit to see where I was headed with the
solo show we had scheduled for March of 2010. This was April
of 2009 and I had just begun to descend into the work. When
he arrived I had several paintings and a table filled with all the
journals I had written over the last fifteen years, a handful of
vials of blood and skin I had collected over the last ten years
for preliminary work on projects that never made it to fruition.
When he viewed the work he was pleased but was unsure how
I was going to incorporate the journals. My thinking at the time
was to have them available for viewing and purchase. He asked
my intentions and I said that I wanted to purge them from my life
and it made all the sense in the world to do so at my first solo
in Los Angeles in ten years. His response was that if I wanted
to purge them then don’t go half assed. Go all the way. After
much thought I realized that I had to devise an installation that
would facilitate the total irreconcilable destruction of all my writing. I sketched the concept in less than an hour. A prone human form (Me) made of my own body and blood (harkens back
to my Christian origins) hovering over all my journals opened
on a table for all to tear apart and keep. The metaphoric and
transitional magic of the work was multilayered.
– How difficult was it to collect the 660 vials of your own blood
and flesh?
– Very!
When I sat down and figured out roughly how much blood and
flesh I would need to make a three dimensional life-size human
form I was stunned. I had figured out the total mass of an average male body, figured the amount of blood needed to fill one vial,
added volume around that, then calculated the total number of vials
needed. We were talking about gallons of blood. I had extracted
blood for one or two vials at the most and that was mostly from
capitalizing on accidents in the studio. I always had an empty vial
and a funnel in my studio just in case I slipped with a chisel and cut
Flesh and Blood Installation, 2010
Glass, wood, blood, skin, paper, steel, and other mixed media, 9 x 4 x 9”
o tym mówić, zwłaszcza że lekarz upuszczający krew na moje
życzenie ryzykuje utratą prawa do wykonywania zawodu. Poszukiwania kosztowały mnie mnóstwo zachodu.
Wciąż słyszałem: „Świetny projekt, ale nie chcę łamać prawa”. W końcu zamieściłem ogłoszenie w sieci i skontaktował
się ze mną doktor, który sam jest artystą i któremu mój pomysł
spodobał się na tyle, że postanowił mi pomóc. Przynajmniej raz
w miesiącu przyjeżdżałem do niego na pobór krwi przelewanej
następnie do fiolek. Tak wyglądał krwawy koniec pracy nad instalacją.
Zgromadzenie tkanki było dużo bardziej bolesne i czasochłonne.
Pilnikiem zdzierałem skórę z ramion, rąk, łydek, ud, dłoni i stóp
tak długo, aż zaczynały krwawić, a ja miałem wystarczająco
dużo naskórka, by napełnić 100 fiolek. Blizny po tym będę miał
do końca życia, ale nie martwi mnie to.
– Czy pokazywanie obcym swoich pamiętników nie uważasz
za nieco ekshibicjonistyczne?
– To też sztuka. Pamiętniki, obrazy, wszystko po to, by siebie
wyrazić. Różny jest tylko sposób.
– Jak ludzie reagują na tę wystawę? Dbasz w ogóle o to,
co sądzą inni?
– Właściwie to byłem mile zaskoczony tym, że ogromna większość
nie tylko zrozumiała cel mojej pracy, ale jeszcze polubiła niszczenie moich pamiętników. To było naprawdę wspaniałe. A czy zależy
mi na tym, co myślą ludzie? Ani trochę. Ale pozwól, że wyjaśnię.
Wierzę, że każdy z nas nakłada na dzieło sztuki filtr własnych przeżyć i przemyśleń, w wyniku czego widzi zupełnie inną pracę niż
ta, którą ja stworzyłem. I wierzę, mocno wierzę, że spojrzenie tej
osoby jest równie dobre i ważne jak moje. Chcę, by moje prace
znaczyły coś dla ludzi i nie musi to mieć związku ze mną.
– Co czeka sztukę współczesną po tylu eksperymentach
z ludzkim ciałem (body art, performance, modyfikacje)? Czy
dobrze, że przydarzyła jej się tak krwawa przygoda pod koniec XX w.? Pytam o to, bo wydaje mi się, że ty również zdążyłeś zachłysnąć się własną krwią.
myself, which often happened. The amount I needed was staggering. I knew I needed a phlebotomist. The trouble was no one would
touch this project. The state and Federal laws basically stated that
anyone who was willing to take my blood for my own use could
loose their license to work. It was a lot for me to ask of someone.
After contacting everyone and anyone in the medial field I was told,
“Great project. Can’t help you due to legal.” I put and open ad on
the internet and luckily a local phlebotomist who happened to also
be an artist who loved the concept and agreed to indulge me. So
I would meet with him at least once a month to have my blood
drawn and transferred to small vials at his house. That was the
blood end of the installation.
The flesh part was much more time consuming and painful. This
involved a rasp. I would basically shred skin from my arms, forearms, calves, legs, palms and feet until I bled and was able to collect enough of my discarded skin to fill 100 vials. The scars from
that I will have for the rest of my life.
– Isn’t the inclusion of your journals as part of the “Flesh
and Blood” a bit exhibitionistic, displaying your own journals
to strangers?
– Isn’t all of art? Journals, images it is all about putting yourself out
there. Just a different medium.
– What were people’s reactions to the “Flesh and Blood” exhibition? To what extent do you care what people think?
– Actually, I was surprised that the overwhelming majority of people
that saw the work and the installation not only got what I was trying
to do but loved participating in the destruction of my journals. It
was wonderful. What do I care what people think about the work?
I don’t. Let me clarify though. I believe a viewer looks at a work
of art through the filters of her or his own life’s experiences and
sees an entirely different work than the one I intended, perhaps.
And I believe, I strongly believe that his or her interpretation of the
work is just as valid as my own. So, I don’t care because I want the
experience to mean something to them and that may mean it has
very little to do with me.
tysty Starowieyskiego. Widziałeś kiedyś jego prace? Znasz
jakichś innych polskich artystów?
cere complement to my work that when someone chooses to have
my work a permanent part of their body for the rest of their lives.
– Nie znałem wcześniej prac Franciszka, dlatego bardzo ci dziękuję, że mogłem je dzięki tobie zobaczyć. Jego prace są naprawdę niesamowite.
Mam wiele wspólnego ze Zdzisławem Beksińskim, którego jestem ogromnym fanem. Jego dzieła poznałem po zakończeniu
pracy nad „Flesh and Blood”. Ktoś tak jak ty wspomniał, że moje
obrazy przypominają prace Zdzisława. Oba porównania to dla
mnie prawdziwe komplementy.
– When I saw your work for the first time it reminded me of the
work of the Polish artist Franciszek Starowieyski. Do you know
his work? Do you know any other Polish artists?
– Co robisz, gdy nie tworzysz? Jak odpoczywasz?
– Piszę. Aktualnie wraz z drugim pisarzem pracuję nad autobiografią. Zbieram materiały do książki o wystawie „Flesh and
Blood”. I śpię.
Odpoczynek? Mam trzyletniego syna, równie energicznego jak
ja, więc nie mam kiedy odpocząć. Wyciszam się nocą, kiedy cały
świat jest pogrążony we śnie.
– Jak to jest być artystą w XXI wieku?
– Dość przyziemnie a jednak wciąż bardzo ekscytująco. Mówię
tak, ponieważ naprawdę cieszy mnie to, co robię. Ale myślę,
że sztuka wizualna nie jest już tak mocna, jak powiedzmy 20
czy 30 lat temu. Wtedy nie byliśmy tak przytłoczeni obrazami jak dziś, gdy jesteśmy nimi bombardowani z miliona źródeł
w każdej chwili. Kilka dziesięcioleci temu było zupełnie inaczej.
Myślę, że staliśmy się nieco otępiali mnogością obrazów. Nie
wiem, czy to tak naprawdę zła rzecz. Świat taki już jest i albo
się przystosujesz, albo giniesz. Robię to, co robię, a o tym, jak
się odnajdę w powodzi obrazów, pomyślę później.
Scribe, 2010
Oil on Gesso Coated Print Paper, 15 x 22.5”
– Co nas czeka... Nie jestem pewien. W połowie lat 90. obserwowałem i uczestniczyłem w rozkwicie neoprymitywizmu. Widziałem, jak w ciągu pięciu lat z dziwacznego podziemnego ruchu stał
się dominującym trendem. Przynajmniej tu, w Stanach. Odnosząc
to do sztuki, myślę, że już od wczesnego chrześcijaństwa ludzkie ciało było wykorzystywane jako środek wyrazu w ten czy inny
sposób. Jak sprawy potoczą się dalej? Z ogromną chęcią będę
śledził ten rozwój, jednak nie chcę niczego sugerować. To jest
właśnie tak cudowne w sztuce, obserwować rozwój i nie móc
przewidzieć, co dalej. Myślę też, że te wszystkie eksperymenty
z ekspresją pod koniec XX wieku bardzo się przydały. Artystom
kończą się środki wyrazu. Co może być więc lepszego od nowego spojrzenia na własne ciało i użycia go jako medium?
– Co sądzisz o sztuce tatuażu i o body art? Wiąże cię coś
ze sceną tatuażu, z ludźmi z nią związanymi?
– Mój związek z modyfikacjami ciała i tatuażem jest długotrwały
i pełen szacunku. Jeszcze w połowie lat 90. jako biedny, walczący o przetrwanie artysta, próbujący swoich sił w fetysz klubach
w San Francisco, brałem udział jako model w kursach piercingu u ojca neoprymitywizmu Fakira Musafara. Miałem podwójnie
przekłute oba sutki, pępek, język, nos i sześć kolczyków w uchu.
Odkryłem, że kolczyki pozwoliły mi lepiej zrozumieć moje ciało
i wpłynąć na nie.
Jeśli chodzi o tatuaż, to mam jeden – drut kolczasty skopiowany
z graffiti znalezionego w Północnej Irlandii. Przebywałem tam,
szukając informacji na temat tamtejszego konfliktu, który był
z kolei przedmiotem pracy należącej teraz do byłego podsekretarza stanu mieszkającego w Waszyngtonie. Drut ten idealnie
oddawał to, jak odosobniony czułem się jako artysta w ugrzecznionym społeczeństwie.
Wielu ludzi zdecydowało się utrwalić moje prace na swoich ciałach, w większej lub mniejszej formie. Muszę przyznać, że nie
ma dla mnie większego komplementu niż decyzja o posiadaniu
jednej z moich prac na sobie do końca życia.
– Gdy pierwszy raz zetknąłem się z twoimi ciałami na obrazach, nasunęło mi się skojarzenie z pracami polskiego ar-
Pytał Piotr Wojciechowski i Kamila Pociech
Tłumaczyła Kamila Pociech
Zdjęcia John U. Abrahamson, Kevin Riepl,
Robin Perine - www.robinperine.com
– I was not aware of Franciszek’s work, but I see why you would think
that. I was really turned on by his work when I looked him up, something that I must thank you for. The Polish artist I am most familiar
with and love is Zdzislaw Beksinski. I became aware of his work after
the “Flesh and Blood” series was completed and through a similar
discussion, someone turned me on to him because I reminded him
of Zdzislaw’s work. Quite a compliment on both, I might add.
– What are your other interests, besides making art? How
do you relax?
– Writing. Right now I am writing my autobiography with a co-writer
and putting together a book of the “Flesh and Blood” exhibit and
sleeping.
Relax? No. I have a 3 year old boy just as crazy as I am, I never relax.
My sanctuary is the night, late when all the world is asleep
– What’s it like being an artist in the 21st century?
– Diminished perhaps and yet very exciting none the less. I only say
that because I really enjoy what I do but I find the visual image has
lost a lot of the impact that it would have had say even just 20 or 30
years ago. Unlike then we are totally and completely bombarded
with visual imagery from a million different sources all the time. That
just wasn’t the case a couple of decades ago. I believe we have become desensitized and over stimulated visually. I honestly can not
say that it is a bad thing though. It is the way of the world now and
you either adapt or die. I just do what I do and will worry about how
to get it into the flood of images out there already, later.
Interview by Piotr Wojciechowski, Kamila Pociech
Translated by Kamila Pociech
Photos John U. Abrahamson, Kevin Riepl,
Robin Perine - www.robinperine.com
– What do you think will be the next step in contemporary art
progressing from artwork that experiments with the human
body (body art, performance, modification)? How do you consider this art’s bloody adventure in the end of 20th century?
– The next step…. I have to say I am not sure. I watched and participated in the modern tribal explosion of the mid 90’s and watched
it go from freak underground to mainstream in a matter of about 5
years. At least, here in the US. As it relates to art, I think the use of
the human body for expression has had some basis in some form
or another throughout history, all the way back to the original Christians. Where do things go from here? I will be very excited to see
and make no predictions on it. That is what makes arts so wonderful, watching the progression without any preclusion. As to how
I consider this particular experiment in expression at the end of the
20th Century, I think it was necessary. Artists are running out of new
forms of expression and what better way than to turn against the
very flesh of one’s own body and use it as our new medium.
– What are your thoughts regarding the art of tattoo and bodyart in general? Do you have any tattoos or any connection
to the tattoo scene?
– Quick answer is yes. My involvement with body modification and
tattoo is long and reverent.
When I was a poor struggling artist pounding out my rep in the
fetish clubs of San Francisco in the mid 90‘s I would volunteer
for piercing class demonstrations for the father of the modern
primitive movement, FAKIR MUSAFAR. I had both nipples double
pierced, belly, tongue, nose and six ear piercing. I found it brought
me more in tune with my body and allowed me to turn some things
upon my self.
Tattoo wise I have one, my artist’s insignia on my right upper-arm.
A symbol of barbered wire I got from some Northern Ireland graffiti
I found while doing research on the conflict there for a painting that
now lives in Washington DC with an ex-Under-Secretary of State.
To me it perfectly symbolized the isolation I felt as an artist from the
rest of polite society. Now, there are many people that sport my paintings as full body tattoos or smaller. I have never had a more sin-
Cigarette Burns, 2009
Oil on Gessoed Print Paper, 22.5 x 15”
At the Altar of Needles, 2009
Oil on Gessoed Print Paper, 22 x 15.5”
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Supporting Emerging Artists
Urban Scrawl 003: Books: Theyʼre not just for Reading Anymore
Urban Scrawl 003: Books: Theyʼre not just for Reading Anymore
A few weekends back the LA Times Festival of Books took over the UCLA campus, staging an orgiastic marketplace for the
written word that almost had me believing people still buy books. Iʼm not talking about whether or not people still read—Iʼm
talking about the actual, traceable, physical acquisition of paper-and-ink books whose dimensional bulks take up space on the
shelf in addition to (instead of?) their contents taking up space in the brain. The Hammerʼs current exhibition exploring the
famed Red Book of Carl Jung perhaps provides a lone example of cooperation among the qualities of both; offering a
metonymical fusion of sensory experience and narrative content that examines the operations of the mindʼs attempt to
comprehend its situation, and seems to celebrate art as a useful bridge between the two. As an aside, donʼt you think itʼs
interesting that Kindle as a brand name evokes fires, given that the pyre has been the fate of so many of historyʼs most
important literary efforts?
At any rate, Iʼve always assumed that the art worldʼs slice of book paradise is fundamentally safe from the trend toward
content-disembodiment. Just in the last few months, gorgeous new monographs from Kim Gordon, Dana Schutz, Charles
LeDray, Dennis Hopper, and many more have all arrived at my door. MoCA (aside from what I assume will be plans to
highlight the new Hopper this summer) is putting out a brand-new childrenʼs book (not a podcast or an infographic, but a proper
book) exploring its collections. The Brooklyn Museum just received a gift of a collection of 11,000 art books, coincidentally from
a woman I worked with at the Guggenheim nearly 20 years ago. Small world, and Brooklyn thanks you, Thea! Meanwhile, both
LA and NYC are facing major fiscal crises that threaten the programming and accessibility of major public libraries, as well as,
I would imagine, their acquisitions budget…
Well, as for acquisitions, as I remember reading in my faded Xerox copy of Benjaminʼs “Unpacking my Library”, and herewith
massacre through paraphrase, the best way to collect books the books you want is to write them yourself. If youʼre curious, the
galleries will all have copies already or right away, but Iʼll be posting the essays over at my website, sndx.net. Theyʼre not there
yet, though, since Iʼm waiting until theyʼre properly published to send the full information around. Donʼt worry, Iʼll let you know when and where and how to snap them
up… So in that vainglorious vein, keep a lookout for upcoming exhibitions from LA artists Julia Schwartz (5.15 at Bleicher-Golightly), Jim McHugh (5.22 at Timothy
Yarger), and Jay Mark Johnson (in conjunction with the Venice Art Walk); plus work for Marine Salon (a July release of its first-year catalog) and the .ISM Polaroid Project
catalog, due out this summer. I also wrote the copy for a new artist book from Yoskay Yamamoto, the first of a series of publications from LeBasse Projects.
Speaking of which, we must of course consider artist books as a wholly separate genre—those
limited-run, individually finished art projects that take the form of a book but are widely understood to
be closer to editioned prints or other non-singular works of art than to printed matter—and as a
beloved hybrid art form with artisan publishers and avid collectors of its own. If anything, the ratio of
originality to affordability they offer recommends them highly in this economy. They give curious
collectors a chance to own something special by emerging art stars whose larger works have
already been priced out of their (our?) reach; and a new show at the Land of Odd is dedicated
entirely to this proposition, not to mention almost all of the salient exhibitions up at the Getty
Research Institute, including the upcoming Monumental Prints show there. Also opening this month
at Western Project is a curious, unsettling, and delightful book-based project from Arne Svenson,
The Last Library, investigating the role of technology in the question of authorship and authenticity.
But there is another thread running throughout all this page-turning, and thatʼs the recent confluence
of art shows/installations by artists that make art out of books, who destroy them in the process of
using them as raw material for their work, sculptural, performative, interactive, and otherwise. And
there are more than a few. Iʼm not sure how I feel about this practice. I love the delicious irony of
separating books from their function; works like these manage to highlight booksʼ existences as
objects precisely because of their destruction. This destruction itself, being in service of a larger
idea, seems to honor the directives contained within the pages of the sacrificial tomes—an oroborus
of the finest quality.
The artist Brian Dettmer seems to agree. I havenʼt seen these dinosaurs (pun intended) in person yet, but I
look forward to the chance. Have a look and read his artist statement too while youʼre at it—I think heʼs
right. I remember when I moved here from NYC in the early 1990s, I saw a piece at Angles Gallery by Buzz
Spector in which he had patiently removed slivers from pages of an open book, creating a sculpture that
retained its function as a deliverer of written content only when viewed from a certain aspect, but more than
fulfilled its function as a massive, intriguing, fraught, beautiful, and complexly referential sculptural object.
Right around the same time, Dani Tullʼs Rejected Written Material: Tilted Arc offered a genius lampoon of
the imposing volume of discarded screenplays tossed in the dumpster in a given month in LA—so much
that the artist was able to recreate Serraʼs famously large and unpopular NYC sculpture on a fairly large
scale with nothing but unwanted, and probably unread, stories.
And speaking of books you might love but can
never read, one of my favorite things about the
way Mike Stilkey uses books in his work has to do
with the way he lets their ghosts persist into the
conversation. Heʼs got that whole thing about
honoring through divorcing from function down,
building brick and mortar walls out of carefully
selected/juxtaposed books as surfaces both
intimate and monumental on which to paint. Like Duchampʼs urinal which became art because he said so, and
because it was no longer able to be used as it was intended, Stilkeyʼs books, by being books, contribute to the
content and form of his work in a way no other appropriated element could do. He leaves the titles legible on the
spines for the most part, hitting notes by shorthand—Oh, look! Proust right next to Twain! I wonder what it
means?—thus leaving the door open for them to add to the workʼs actual narrative content in their original
incarnation. Itʼs a fine line, absolutely worth walking.
A recent installation by Pascual Sisto at the
mixed-use studio and exhibition space at
533 Los Angeles Street took this
depagination and deconstruction to an
alarming and charming extreme. For
Absolutely Not, the artist built upon a
previous series in which Gilles Deleuze and
Guy Debordʼs calls to radical thought and eventually to action were taken to a level the thinkers may
or may not have appreciated—the sloughing off of old ideas symbolized through their physical
transformation into a confetti party. Sisto has a penchant for high-brow humor expressed in populist,
multisensory formats, and an argument could be made that the generation of collective experience
fostering the reexamination of once-incendiary ideas in the context of a world those ideas have
already transformed is exactly the sort of thing that generation of French intellectuals might have
found delectable. My pocket is full of big ideas and silver stars, and I feel both smarter and more
French because of it.
John U. Abrahamsonʼs installation at Bert Green Fine Art
last month took a rather different approach, but also encouraged a course of deracination, digestion, and recapitulation. Flesh
and Blood included a suite of paintings and a central sculptural installation—a kind of altar made of steel, glass, wood,
suspended vials of the artistʼs blood, and dozens of hand-written journals representing 15 years of quasi-illegible diary entries
detailing the high highs and low lows of an agitated existence. Viewers were encouraged to pull out and keep pages at
random, in an effort to help the artist purge this frenetic past and, I assume, start again tabula rasa. I have no doubt
whatsoever about the powerful magic of his request, but I also intuited that were I to open myself to it, my participation could
yield an oracular new form of intended literature, one with poetry and purpose for myself (the viewer, not the critic)… So I
pulled out each of the page 23s that remained, pulled off the top lines of each, and hereʼs the collaboratively fractal actionpoem that resulted. I kind of like it, but you tell me.
Iʼm calling it, “Come out the other end…”
Come out the other end dry as a bone. We will have to see about New York…
Indeed upon the right path. I donʼt know right now; all I want is to get caught up on bills so I will continue to work as hard as
possible until that happens.
Physical labor and pooled tips so there isnʼt any back-biting or fucking high-school politics.
Something tells me I cannot do the soft pack anymore.
All I will be left with is guilt and regret.
Iʼve got him to a point where he can care for himself and I die.
Enough talk.
What can I tell you? That I have masturbated with a dildo?
Blood. This could symbolize my art.
I tend to gravitate there when I want to self-destruct.
All that aside, as I have stated on numerous occasions…
I am desperate to email her and thank her for driving up and dropping off the money in such a timely manner.
Realize that this will take entirely too long.
To pull extra shifts just to stay afloat.
Washing away in blood.
My new mantra, I suppose.
I have been drinking again. Too much. Get drunk almost every night, alone in the dark, late at night,
But lost within the light of the day. Oceans and oceans of regret.
I would never have guessed in a million years that I would be married to a beautiful woman.
Then I have to deal with the stupid cable bill.
Damn, man, that is good coffee.
Greet this line with open arms. My life has so many wondrous things.
Perhaps there is the play I really should be reading!
Then coming across a pack of dogs straining against their leashes, held by a single man.
Night. Christ, I didnʼt get to be until almost five oʼclock.
****************
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ImagineNation News
+deviantWATCH
/ 115/
a few of the ma ny gems IMI we
found on the Pdges of devianlART..
M Life Is Humiliation
ItJI by Matt Boyce
fYI~\:.hico.l
Cl"eo.t.ure.s
in \;heil"
o..>~ U1or~s
eIoIst...~.eom
In his online profile ur'\der Inte<ests.
Nicholas admits that he likes
painting, and it shows. This is a
positively bustling deviant gallery.
with original creature design and
classic fantasy scenes shot through
with a sense of humour, all vying
for your undillided attention. Take
a look, it's fantastic!
---
There's an impressive wqalth of
tr&dltional fantasy art here, and
with Michaof!l's recent exhibition
photos linking to his blog. it's easy
to lose track of lime as you browse
his work You can expect to see
fantasy art with a touch at the
surreal and verdant hues.
Comeback kid
Artist's lifeblood John U. Abrahamson's
work goes on show in California
~:~~.;"::~.::.:'":":':"'::on In ten yea
.r
1l1wenka.devlam.t.com
Ewa's images. which she calls
fractal art, are like ChiMSe scroll
paintings created by androids
- impressionistic y« mochanical,
traditional but abstract. Titles SUCh
as Air and CyberGhost show
where her inte rests lie - between
the ethereal and the ordered.
~~ APril 2010
John U
to gl... e mon of himself than Is
usually expected from artists. Flesh and Blood will
n.ln from 10 March to 24 April 2010 In the Bert Gree n
Fh,. Art Gallery In Los Angeles, showcasing a
decade', wot1h of John's work, lncludlng a
centrepiece Installation that Includes 300 ...Ials of his blood ,
The installation will also ioclude steel. glass, wood, and the artist's
flesh, all in the shape of a prone human form hovering three feet over
30 of his journals. Visitors will then be iwited to destroy these
volumes, completing a cycle of catharsISfor John. "This is about an
artIst in m<d·life, contemplatIng the waste, sloth and slowly
approaching mortahty of hIS life, framed by moments of self·
flagellatlOl1." he explains. For more details about the exhibition. and
to see John's work, head straight 0\Ie(" to w_.bgfa.us.
John describe's ,"" Flesh and Blood sones M _
as the CfMIion 01 his own ~ r..Il
“I found it
interesting
how things in
the back of
my mind would
be pulled
forward by
looking deep
into something
that I drew
with my eyes
closed!”
•
,,,,,; :! (''''
Sketchbook of
John U. Abrahamson
--.-tel' ~c.... , ~~rtI'fI II"., fllPill t#tJ.
~
Process
---
I
~
This article is based on sketches created for
from this primordial soup of lines and scratches were
a series of works which have come to be
laced with the aforementioned encounters.
collectively known as “Flesh and Blood”.
(c
The entire series is built upon what I was able to
,
In my previous work I’ve used limited
pull from automatism exercises filtered through my
sketching as a way to flesh out what
emotions and life experiences. Once a figure was
I had already envisioned in my head.
developed in this manner, I would push and pull the
I had thought out every detail of the
concept in as many directions as possible. At the end
painting ahead of sketching, primarily
of a session I would find the images that spoke with
)
working from source material such as
the loudest and most precise voice. The end result
photographs from books, magazines, and
was a more liberated and more successful series.
ads that I would gather before I began a new
This process of using nothing but sketches as the
series. I would pour over the images until a
direction presented itself; I would do rough
basis for the work allowed for a more
freeform association, resulting in
•
sketches to work out composition and other
a world populated with creatures
visual problems, doing the finished sketch
that carried with them the very
on the canvas itself…
essence of myself.
Sketches
Cigarette Burns
This started with a scribbled
circle which
developed into
a stomach
and breasts
(Fig.01). A
For the “Flesh and Blood” series I chose to take a whole new approach to the process
of creating. I started with some base parameters that formed the framework that I would
quick curved
slash to show
build upon. This framework was a product of several experiences that happened as I
gesture turned into
began Flesh and Blood.
the tube emanating
from the crotch.
The first happened at the De Young Art Museum in Golden Gate Park of San
Shading
Francisco. The place was packed with people. I was hoping to get some spark of
scratches
inspiration from their collection. When passing by all the patrons buying tickets, I
developed into
saw a stunningly beautiful woman; both her arms had been amputated mid bicep
the spikes in
with exposed bone protruding from the end of the tapered muscle. She was in a
the arms, or
wheelchair and having a seemingly wonderful time with her friends. I found her to
the “cigarette
be both perfect and transcendent.
burns” when
I translated it
The other defining visual was at Filoli, a marvelous mansion from the 1800s which
to paint. The
is now a museum in the San Francisco area. In the gardens of Filoli we came across
automatic
some apple and pear trees that had been trellised when they were mere saplings.
Throughout the many years they stood as the flesh of the trees grew around the
armature. Metal polls protruded from the flesh of the trees like arms; this, to me,
was reminiscent of the woman at the De Young.
drawing base
suggested to me
a painful period in my life when I
lot of inner guilt which I turned to self-
The sketches for Flesh and Blood began with automatic drawing. I filled page after
page with nothing but automatic drawings. The figures that slowly began to emerge
I
was going through a divorce and had a
mutilation, such as cigarette burning.
Angels of Death
With the birth of my son and my ever aging
body, my own mortality is always very close
to the surface. In one session of automatism
exercises, these two figures came out of
the chaos of scribbles (Fig.02); the lower
representing cancer, and the top figure liver
damage (the latter developed into the painting
now known as “Damage”). I suppose these
are two possible ways that I will meet my
demise. I found it interesting how things in the
back of my mind would be pulled forward by
looking deep into something that I drew with
my eyes closed!
Sketchbook of
John U. Abrahamson
Mother Issues
My mother disappeared when I was
seven and my sister was five; we didn’t
know if she was alive or dead. No one
said anything about her and she faded
from memory. I found her when I was
18. This issue is repeated through every
series I have ever done. I will say that
this sketch was more intentioned than
the others; I did set out to do a portrait
of dear old mom. The body head and
spikes were well established vocabulary
by the time I did this sketch. This is
probably the most from-the-gut-andaccurate portrait I have done of her
(Fig.03).
“I often feel
that the
drawing leads
me, not the
other way
around.”
Portrait of my Ex wife
This was a more freeform drawing –
automatic drawing developed out and
elaborated upon. The first image was
my ex-wife. She was disabled and
addicted to Morphine. The head started
as a pincer like head, but it developed
to have more sexual connotations. The
most important thing about this sketch is
the flow of the development of an idea,
as shown when read from left to right
(Fig.04).
www.2dartistmag.com
page 22
Issue 048 December 2009
,
.
'.
/
,,r
,
The Red Door
The female figure suggested
the male figure
I
<, '
(Fig.05); I did not intend to do a couple, one
,
development simply led to the next. I find this an
I"
I
invaluable tool: looking at the lines, intended or
not, and seeing what they suggest. I often feel
that the drawing leads me, not the other way
around.
;)
,
At the Altar of Needles
This is an interesting sketch for me because the
finished painting varied more from the sketch than any
other painting I did (Fig.06); usually the painting was
an exact reproduction of the sketch. An entire birthing
apparatus was added after I painted the sketch as it
appeared in my sketchbook. I don’t know this for fact
but I believe my subconscious was pushing dear old
mom in front again.
•
John U. Abrahamson
Sketchbook of
Untitled
This sketch was never used as a painting, but
it’s important in so far as it was the first time a
prevalent image came into the work (Fig.07).
The legs transforming
into stilt-like apparatus
was, I believe, born
out of my natural tendency to
make cruciform. The image
continued to show up in the
work even when this was
not the effect the stilts had. I
associate with an idea or image
and sometimes it can be years
after the fact that I will look at a
drawing or painting and see the
intent behind it – something I
was not consciously aware of at
the time of creation!
www.2dartistmag.com
page 25
Issue 048 December 2009
In the Theater of Teeth
The final painting was a combination of this figure and another from
a totally different drawing session; different from all others because
j
it was directly related to a pre-existing image. I was going through
an anatomy book just to reacquaint myself with the muscle structure
of the back when this came to me.
•
•
Note from the
editor:
John U. Abrahamson’s “Flesh and Blood” will open
March 10th at Bert Green Fine Art in Los Angeles,
CA, USA. For more information, please visit:
http://www.bgfa.us
http://www.JohnUA.com
John U.
Abrahamson
For more information please visit
http://www.JohnUA.com
http://fleshendblood.blogspot.com
or contact
[email protected]