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Monday, September 2, 2013

The Wholly Original & Brilliantly Unique Jae Lee

           
        
 
 
 
His work is decorative, minimal intricate, detailed and refined. The work in many ways is a genre unto itself. Artist/Illustrator Jae lee is the elegance among the utilitarian, the poetry among the mundane. lee is best known for his still bourgeoning career as a graphic story-teller for Marvel and DC comics. His assignments consist of the “special” and the “heavy-weight” projects. Marvel’s adaptation of the Stephen King series “The Dark Tower” went to lee and it is to date is his most powerful achievement. The panels are rich with substance, alluring and visceral to an extreme. The ‘Tower” books; scripted by Peter David with King himself serving as creative and executive director are treasures.
 
 
                   
 
 
Lee is easily placing himself among the greats both in and outside of the comic medium with past and contemporary artists. Visionaries from Maxfield Parrish to Chris Van Allsburg are rivaled and complimented by lee. The master sculpture Michelangelo can even be referenced by the work of lee. The “Pieta” seems to be an inspiration for Lee who is quickly becoming a master of his craft and as an artist surpassing all norms.
                    
 
                                                                                                    
 
“The Illustrated Dracula” by Bram Stoker illustrated by Jae lee is one of the handsomest volumes of any modern publication. The book fits perfectly into the hand. It is precisely weighted and just plain feels good to hold. In another time this wouldn’t be so much a consideration but in this increasingly print less society it is a committed endorsement of the ancient process of book making. The paperback edition in design gives the illusion of worn leather and it is  tompe-l’oeil used to spectacular effect. I am reminded of a church hymnal in that it is very equal in look and size. The illustrations are not intrusive or distractions but give the edition an intended welcoming illumination. The enhanced drawings are again minimal, gothic and beautiful.

 
 
 
Jae lee’s new work remains anticipated by his followers and he seldom fails to deliver certain greatness into a pretentious, while ordinary world of massive mediocrity. His involvement with DC Comic’s reboot “Batman/Superman” series gives a marked importance to what might otherwise be a failed project. Lee’s efforts are always interesting, always pushing a little farther than the pack. The folks at DC have fallen behind their chief competition Marvel. They have been vastly outdistanced and hope to revamp and capitalize in publishing and especially in the film industry. Marvel has captured a large portion of the film world with “The Avengers” and their other film franchises like “Thor, Iron-Man and Captain America.” The popularity, quality and fascination Lee brings to his projects are intrinsically valuable especially at this critical time for the industry. DC Comics sees a successful “Batman/Superman” book as essential to their efforts and a prelude to a “Justice League” film franchise.

 


Jae Lee is an artist of the highest standards; someone to count on to deliver and to thrill. Look for him in a book store near you. The Graphic Novel section would be the place to begin; then on to the classics of literature and beyond.

 
 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Jean-Leon Gerome "The Orientalist"

 
Jean-Leon Gerome was one of the great Parisian Orientalists. They were artists that traveled to the mid-east studied, observed, photographed and reproduced a version of a world that was very much a reflection of their European sensibilities. They were not entirely accurate in tone or content but the attention to detail of patterns, textures and physiology were impeccable. These were works of beauty and technique that were academic gems.  His fellows including Delacroix, Regnault and others that supplied a vision of the mid-east that delighted mesmerized and to a degree informed a generation of collectors. The mid to late nineteenth century was fruitful and lush for these artists especially Gerome whose works were popular and sold profusely around the world including many American buyers. At least three of the images on this blog (including the richly lush The Snake Charmer) are in American collections. 
 


 

 Gerome’s academic style was much admired and rewarded before falling out of favor with the rise of the impressionist and later modernist painters. Photography and the increased access to mass travel beyond the elite classes were probably factors in the Gerome decline in popularity. World views changed as taste and fashion are constantly looking for “The New.” This applies just as readily to the world of fine art as to any other aspect of culture.

 
 
On many counts and in fact Gerome was an artist and creator of art of diverse themes and subjects. History, portraiture, stage and literature are all found among his catalogue. He has influenced film makers like Ridley Scott who used Gerome’s “Pollice Verso” as the informing inspiration for his film “Gladiator.” There is an adherent narrative element to the works of Gerome; they could well be scenes from great cinematic projections. The theatrical quality of his work is without dispute. There is no greater vision of drama or theatre laced with pathos and irony then Gerome’s “Duel after the Masquerade.” It is on view and among the permanent collection of The Walters Collection in Baltimore Maryland. The small 15.5” x 22.5” canvas is monumental in thought and achievement.
 
 
 



For the lovers of art and imagery Jean-Leon Gerome remains unsurpassed. His works are suggestions of mystery, eroticism and adventure. They are classical and romantic, rich in detail and skillful executions. To stand before a Gerome is to stand before genius and beauty.





Saturday, July 6, 2013

A Murder of Crows

 


I dreamed I was haunted and hunted by a murder of crows; indicted by a parliament of owls and entertained by a gaggle of geese. These are all poetic terms for groups of birds; their origins not completely known. The case of the crows probably is in alignment with the fact that battle fields have been known to be covered with the feasting carrion birds. I’m certain more than one murder victim’s corpse has been found in the same manner. The crows black feathers an ominous symbol of death and their song a cry of pain, far less than alluring. A murder of crows in short has a “ring” that sounds remarkable fitting and ideally distinct.  
 

 
The crow is equally arresting in nature and in fiction. Books, film and song feature the resourcefully clever creatures. Aesop was fond of crows and found them useful in many of his illustrious fables, “The Crow and the Pitcher, The Fox and the Crow and The Crow and the Swan” among them. Disney used crows in his feature “Dumbo.” A flock (Disney would never have used the word murder) of crows befriend the distressed elephant; help him to believe in himself and his abilities. Disney’s Crows add humor, song, heart and compassion to the film. The characters were also considered racially offensive and rife with negative stereo-types. They remain debatable. Ralph Bakshi would use crows in a similar but updated manner as did Disney in his adaptation of R. Crumb’s “Fritz the Cat.” Bakshi’s films were much more satirical and “hipper,” they were critical of every aspect of society and culture. Bakshi’s brilliance was equal to Disney’s but drastically different and his target audience the radical chic and the underground covet his land mark films.
 
Actor Johnny Depp has chosen to wear a hopefully taxidermist crow as a headdress in the currently in theatres version of “The Lone Ranger.” His impressive “Tonto Look” was inspired by a painting by contemporary artist Kirby Sattler. The painting “I Am Crow” is a feat unto itself and Sattler’s fame should increase exponentially with the film’s success. Depp in full makeup is featured on the July 4-8 cover issue of “Rolling Stone” magazine. It will take its place among the many iconic covers from the magazine’s remarkable history of striking covers.


Painter Jamie Wyeth works almost exclusively from nature. He is one of America’s most acclaimed and revered artists.  Crows, along with their cousin’s ravens have found their way onto a number of his canvases. These works are detailed to a flaw and lovely to behold. Wyeth’s crow paintings are successful renderings that illuminate the animal like no others.



                                                    "I Am Crow" by Kirby Sattler

 
 


James O’ Barr’s “The Crow” is the telling of a murder victim’s rise from the grave and vigilante style retribution of his own and his bride’s killers. It places Barr among the most revered of the graphic novel form. The original film version released in 1994 starring the late Brandon Lee became legend. Lee’s immersion into the character and his untimely death during the actual filming have made “The Crow” a cult classic that remains engaging and intriguing. The stylistic comic book, gothic-noir look of the movie is unsurpassed to this day. 


In as much as the crow informs and inspires the minds of the creative they are in general among the least popular of birds. Think about the scarecrow…what other bird has a thing named; invented and dedicated just to ward it off. The scarecrow does honestly have a justification in that crows destroy crops and are a general nuisance. There are few that don’t love a singing and dancing scarecrow as portrayed by Ray   Bolger in “The Wizard of Oz” and later by Michael Jackson in the “Wiz.” Crows themselves are by most accounts not the most beautiful of creatures especially considering the vast array of colorful families of known birds. Crows while reviled are actually the cleanest of birds, smart, loving and attentive as parents. 


 

As I write this blog a giant crow has just landed in a tree above me adjacent to my front porch, we are almost face to face. It is cawing wildly and dangerously close. I have to admit he is a little “too close for comfort.”  I will have to chase him away. It seems that the species is best viewed from a distance or through the interpretation of fiction.  The true scientist would perhaps view this as a rare opportunity and a great vantage point of observation. I do not. Why is it also in this moment of discomfort; this feeling something of ill at ease, with it there is too a strange validation; a degree of union to nature and in its oddity something akin to Poe?    

The Crow and the Pitcher 

 A crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a pitcher, which he saw at a distance. But when he came up to it, he found the water so low that with all his stooping and straining he was unable to reach it. So he tried to break the pitcher, then to overturn it, but his strength was not sufficient to do either. At last, seeing some small pebbles at hand, he dropped a great many of them, one by one, into the pitcher, and so raised the water to the brim and quenched his thirst.

Aesop

Moral: Little by little does the trick