Discrimination!

“Because of successful identity politics, people have come to identify profoundly with other kinds of groups — ‘I am a Jew,’ or ‘a French person.’ But it’s not likely with ‘I am an ugly person and let’s have a meeting of all ugly people.’ Most people in general would want to disclaim membership. It’s like declaring yourself a member of the clueless.”

An article about how ugly people are discriminated against across the board, no matter what their occupation may be, and how "Ugly Betty" and "Shrek" haven't done a damn thing to change it.

dog eating a wolf

I googled "dog eating a wolf". these pictures came up. dogs are supposed to eat meat. they're even related to wolves, which eat animal meat! but these pictures are still gross.

edit: for some reason these pictures come out really small on the website of the blog. i think if you click on them they are the full size

Blood!

you might not think dracula is that grotesque until you see this movie:

dracula 

is a big part of the book i am working on, and yesterday my friend invited me to the dracula spiral q parade. there is a dracula festival at the rosenbach library, for the holiday season. anyway, there is a gallery tour of maurice sendak's monsters, and a discussion of stoker's notes on wednesday.  i guess sendak's drawings seem more cute than scary, but perhaps more grotesque for that very reason? (oooh!)

$2000 Phone

This is an example of the grotesque things people do with money. The reason this phone is so expensive is because of what its made of and not what it does. Something about unscratchable crystals and LCD displays and oooooh the screen is round! Ugh. Personally I think the phone is ugly, and I'm pretty sure it has less features than most smart phones. Definitely less than the iPhone. But you just know that plenty of people will be running out to get one come December.

NY book fair

This weekend is the New York Art Book Fair. It should be really good.

Here is the website: www.nyartbookfair.com

The website has all of the info about location and times of the fair.

Go!!!!!!

"That's Gotta Hurt!"

So I was watching "what not to wear" last night (which is grotesque in and of itself), but then the next show that came on TLC was called "That's gotta hurt!". It's all about people's terrible accidents. There are plenty of shows like that on TV, but what struck me about "That's Gotta Hurt!" was the graphicness of the re-enactments. There was one where this guy sawed off some of his fingers, and it showed him clutching his really bloody hand and pantomiming pain. Then it talked about a cat who jumped off of a roof and impaled itself on a fence. They showed a fake cat impaled on a fence, with its owner coming up and seeing it and being all "OMG, my cat is impaled on a fence!!"
They also rate the pain on a scale of 1-10, then flash it across the screen.

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=2.14966.55628.31996.x

(the technophobe made a link!!!)

Anatomy Sculptures

It's hard to try and top an epic poem about Henry Kissinger, but try I must, so here are click to see sculptures by Lisa Black incorporating the idea of juxtaposing animal parts and machinery

good afternoon

hi it's cecilia i finally got on this. i have to go to meet all of you now, but i will be posting all sorts of grotesque things soon. quickly, i'd like to share something grotesque and glamorous!

:)!

 

perhaps not so grotesque? there is a pleasing classical symmetry to the line of vision connecting the stain on kiss' shirt and the bone popping out of julia allisons neck. 

and here is a poem from googlisms

henry kissinger is on top of the list
henry kissinger is safe
henry kissinger is on their board and is also paid as a consultant
henry kissinger is "a war criminal" who should be arrested by the irish authorities when he arrives to deliver a
henry kissinger is on top of the list of world's most influential public figures american federal judge
henry kissinger is the also one of the most controversial
henry kissinger is almost
henry kissinger is a war criminal
henry kissinger is left to make logical inferences where the record is incomplete
henry kissinger is its portrait of a man who’s not even really that interested in politics
henry kissinger is so completely trusted by moscow that he negotiated in the middle east on behalf
henry kissinger is due to address the annual conference of the institute of
henry kissinger is an oft
henry kissinger is accused of having endorsed or committed violations of international law of the gravest
henry kissinger is not our chancellor
henry kissinger is revered as a statesman
henry kissinger is widely
henry kissinger is a large and easy target
henry kissinger is a great american success story
henry kissinger is a wanted man
henry kissinger is nothing less or more than an unindicted war criminal
henry kissinger is being accused of being a criminal who should be
henry kissinger is also reportedly wary about where he travels
henry kissinger is the one in need of a buck up
henry kissinger is so
henry kissinger is the wrong choice for chancellor of the college
henry kissinger is accused of scheming to prevent a breakthrough in the paris vietnam peace talks in 1968 to help richard nixon win the us presidential election
henry kissinger is meant to serve as a primer on and a "bill of indictment" for the former secretary of state's many alleged crimes and
henry kissinger is quick to rail against tyrants
henry kissinger is a frightened man
henry kissinger is determined to stop the tapes from reaching the public
henry kissinger is considered by many to be america's premier candidate for an international war
henry kissinger is shown in washington in a july 1995
henry kissinger is that while he was national security adviser to president
henry kissinger is particularly good on chile
henry kissinger is the biggest war criminal of the last half century
henry kissinger is a swipe from daumier's narcissus
henry kissinger is his doctoral dissertation
henry kissinger is a bad read
henry kissinger is one of the five world
henry kissinger is quietly doing some laps
henry kissinger is nothing more than a war criminal
henry kissinger is nursing a beer
henry kissinger is the dove leading the opposition against a war with iraq
henry kissinger is getting a certain amount of play
henry kissinger is a war
henry kissinger is a
henry kissinger is wanted for questioning by two european courts
henry kissinger is a statesman still in intellectual command of the complex world he inhabits
henry kissinger is the
henry kissinger is the result not only of declassified us documents but also global trends empowering judges to reach across frontiers
henry kissinger is wanted for questioning on human rights abuses by courts in france
henry kissinger is growing thin in a dank prison cell
henry kissinger is an expert on the middle east affairs
henry kissinger is one of the towering
henry kissinger is one evil son of a bitch
henry kissinger is now available in paperback with an
henry kissinger is unavailable
henry kissinger is
henry kissinger is one of the new directors of the minoterie
henry kissinger is obliged to expose some of the
henry kissinger is one of the previous winners
henry kissinger is the most notorious war criminal alive in the all the
henry kissinger is heralding war directions once again
henry kissinger is now and

Yuk, God of the Grotesque

"Satan tempts Smarh with knowledge leading to despair, plunging him into the infinite, leading him to doubt God, and calling on Yuk, God of the Grotesque, to teach him about life, 'for the God of the grotesque is an excellent interpreter for explaining the world'...In fact, Yuk is really the God of Language, which is both grotesque and creative, the true form of immortality in that nothing exists outside it. For Yuk's power is all in speech. He opens his mouth and out come 'calumnies, lies, poetry, chimera, religions, parodies,' which expand, interact, amalgamate, 'enter ears, take root and sprout, construct and destroy, bury and unearth, raise up and bring low' (I, 202). To ground the vanity of the world in the grotesque autonomy of language will become a familiar theme in Flaubert..."

from Flaubert: The Uses of Uncertainty by Jonathan Culler

Sybille II by Win Delvoye

This video is quite a spectacular piece. I was introduced to this artist in another class, and continually think of new ways to interpret this particular video. It's definitely grotesque and worth the watch, I'd like to talk about it in class too if enough people take a look! I hope you enjoy.

Here it is.

Show at Swarthmore

So here's a link to an artist/former teacher of mine, Peter Paone, who has a show up at Swarthmore right now. It's a great show and the campus is really beautiful at this time of year. The work, while not what I would directly call grotesque, deals with many of the things we have determined to be so in class (morphed forms, exaggerated features, creepy atmosphere, etc.).

Studying Anatomy Before Photography

The idea of drawing a human whose body has been sliced open so that precise muscles or tendons or bone structures can be observed seems to be similar to creating sculptures (or wanting to take part in the process for science or art) like those that were shown in the Bodies exhibit, and therefore equally as grotesque.

Artists Books Exhibit at Tyler School of Art

There seem to be a lot of great things worth checking out, but if you plan on going, I suggest doing so soon... the exhibit closes on Oct. 25th!

http://www.temple.edu/tyler/exhib_news.html

Instructions on folding a "Jacob's Ladder" book

ms-t-inc.com/pdf-file/jacob.pdf

Spherical Aberrations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E85FZ7WLvao&NR=1

'80s Bus!!!

I saw this in Boston the other day. It was really weird. Everyone on the bus looked too young to remember the '80s. Why all this faux nostalgia? I've been to '80s themed birthday parties where everyone is all "OMG I love the '80s!!!!!" when they weren't... there. I think nostalgia could be considered grotesque because it represents a skewed, distorted view of the past. But then another layer is added when the people never even lived in the time period. (I guess this can also be said of historical reenactors...)
In any event, judging by the 80's bus partiers' enthusiasm for getting their picture taken, they were probably vom + Raly-ing.

James Castle Documentary Screening

The Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists, in conjunction with the MFA Book Arts & Printmaking and MFA Ceramics, Painting, & Sculpture Departments at the University of the Arts, and the Philadelphia Center for the Book

Invite you to a private film screening of

James Castle: Portrait of an Artist

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

University of the Arts
Connelly Auditorium
Terra Building, 8th floor
211 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia
Doors open at 7:00 pm, film screening begins at 7:30 pm

Jeffrey Wolf will introduce the film and answer questions after the screening

RSVP
If possible, please RSVP by noon on October 13 directly to the Foundation's executive director Molly Dougherty by phone or email at 215.979.1155 or MDougherty@FoundationSTAART.org"MDougherty@foundationstaart.org">.

James Castle: Portrait of an Artist

A 53-minute documentary film by Jeffrey Wolf, produced by the Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists, portrays James Castle's life and creative process, as told by family members, art historians, curators, artists, collectors, and members of the deaf community. A true case of triumph of the spirit, Castle's inspirational story is one of monumental achievement. James Castle: Portrait of an Artist is prominently featured in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition, "James Castle: A Retrospective" on view from Oct. 14, 2008 through Jan. 4, 2009.

For additional info please visit: www.JamesCastleFilm.com

Giants

This post is a follow up to a post I made a few weeks ago on Ron Mueck's Life Castings. When I was in New York this past weekend I stumbled upon the giant statue pictured here in a mall on Columbus Circle. The statue reminded me of Mueck's Life Castings, yet they were surrounded by happy tourists, taking pictures with them like you see in the photo.

So what makes Mueck's Castings so grotesque? For me, it is their size coupled with their realistic aesthetic that makes them borderline terrifying to me. The statue pictured here on the other hand is meant to be cute, perhaps powerful. But it actually has a similar effect on me. It's size makes it grotesque-like, reminding me of the Mueck and gargantuanism.

In short, though the intention of this statue is to be cute and welcoming, it ends up being quite grotesque to me.

Wayne Martin Belger and his Pinhole Camera...

"“Third Eye” is a piece by machinist/artist Wayne Martin Belger. It’s a pinhole camera that incorporates the 150 year old skull of an 13 year old girl child…"
click to see

Teeth

In conversations we've had about the grotesque in tv shows and movies, the general consensus seems to be that nothing shocks us anymore; we are so desensitized to so many manifestations of the grotesque that even those things which should horrify and shock us fail to do so. Well, I think I've found a movie that manages at least an element of shock. Though I was not as shocked as I should have been, this was most definitely a grotesque movie. The film's official website, www.teethmovie.com, gives a synopsis of which I've only grabbed about half of:

"A stranger to her own body, innocent Dawn discovers she has a toothed vagina when she becomes the object of violence. As she struggles to comprehend her anatomical uniqueness, Dawn experiences both the pitfalls and the power of being a living example of the vagina dentata myth. "

The film won several different awards at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. I must warn you, however: this movie has the potential to be extremely offensive. It also has some bloody scenes where you see more than you ever wanted to. I recommend it, especially in the context of the grotesque, but also warn that you could be offended by some of the themes and visuals.

rapememo*

NSFW: this tumblr seems to have a similar theme to our blog, although it's in Japanese, so (1) I'm not sure what its purpose is and (2) it's significantly more hardcore.

Body Worlds and Plastination

The Body Worlds and Bodies exhibits approach the intersection of science and art by preserving human cadavers through the process of plastination. Plastination uses reactive polymers and acetone to rid the body of putrefaction bacteria and halt decomposition. Plastination was originally developed as a tool for teaching anatomy and health education, but once removed from the classroom and placed into the context of a museum or gallery, it enters the realm of the grotesque.

A few years ago, the Bodies exhibit showed at the Franklin Institute. I didn't have the opportunity to see it in person, but for those of you who are interested in seeing the show in person, it's still showing in New York and Atlantic City. And if you'd like to, you can even donate your body!

www.bodyworlds.com
www.bodiestheexhibition.com/