Max Ernst: "Europe After the Rain"
Posted: July 5, 2010 Filed under: art, inspiration Leave a commentHere is one of my favorite paintings from the artist Max Ernst:
The painting is entitled, “Europe after the Rain” (click on the image for an enlargement) and employs Ernst’s famous ‘frottage’ technique in which Ernst would lay weathered wood, rough stone, etc., under his canvas while painting, which would create textures in the paint. He would then continue on with glazes and layers — the end effect is satonishing, especially in the originals (which I was lucky enough to see several years ago).
Great, really evocative and haunting stuff.
Moloch: Now thats what I am talking about!
Posted: May 2, 2010 Filed under: creativity, Dero, ideas, inspiration, movies 2 Comments
The above is a still image from Fritz Lang’s 1927 dystopian sci-fi film, Metropolis. Freder, hero of the film (and son of Master of the city) has a vision in which the machine that the workers tend become an idol to which the workers are sacrificed.
Moloch is (or was) a god who was worshipped by the ancient Hebrews (among others) and apparently demanded costly sacrifices. Apparently there are references in the Bible that suggest that children were sacrificed to Moloch by burning them. Moloch is sometimes described as a metal idol in the form of a man with a bull’s head which doubles as a furnace.
It’s been decades since I have sat down to watch Metropolis. Although the actors performances are pretty weird by today’s standards (there is a lot of over-the-top grimacing and pointing and gesturing and everyone wears makeup, including some pretty outrageous eyebrows as I recall), the sets and special effects really are like expressionist paintings come to life… and I remember one somewhat (unintentionally) comical scene in which an engineer who tends the machines beneath the city attempts to ward off a mob by swinging an obviously rubber wrench (it flops and bends like a massive rubber dildo). Great inspiration for settings and images, though — the picture above needs to be the setting for some sort of dero sacrificial rite…
It’s probably difficult for us to understand how radical the film might have been — in the 1920s in both the US and Germany, striking workers could count on being sent back to work by force and their strike leaders killed or arrested. Many were in virtual debt slavery while a tiny minority of the extremely wealthy lived lives of unbelievable decadence (the Weimar era parties in Berlin were famous for fountains that flowed champagne, orgies, sexual slavery, all-you-can-snort cocaine buffets and other examples of ‘off the hook’ conspicuous consumption that apparently make Dennis Kozlowski look like an amateur). All this while the working class were struggling to keep living at a level just above starvation. One of the consequences, unfortunately, is that when the socialists and police began battling in the streets for control, the fearful populace sprang right into the arms of the Fascists… but that’s a story for another time.
Ye Gods!
Posted: March 22, 2010 Filed under: campaigns, fantasy, ideas, inspiration, philosophy Leave a comment
In one of Fafhrd and Mouser’s later stories by Fritz Leiber (I think it was “The Knight and Knave of Swords“), Odin and Loki end up in Newhon because their last worshipers on their home world have died (presumably that was our earth, which Leiber made mention of before as a ‘different’ world than Newhon; although if it was another dimension or just another planet is not made clear if I recall correctly). Weakened by a lack of worshipers, Loki and Odin somehow wander to Newhon where they arrive, barely alive, and are adopted by Fafhrd, the Mouser and their friends. They build up the power of these gods and nurse them back to health because they hope these gods can help save Newhon in an upcoming battle, but after the battle Loki and Odin try to betray them for more power. Happily, the evil Norse gods are frustrated in the attempt (although Fafhrd makes a painful and unintended sacrifice of his left hand to Odin).
A similar conceit (where gods gain power from their followers) is introduced in L. Sprague DeCamp‘s Reluctant King books. Jorian, the main character, finds a small statue that he keeps… and every night the god represented by the statue appears in his dream since he is now that god’s only contact with the human world (all of the rest of his followers having died). What makes it funny is that the god is constantly whining about how long it has been since someone brought him flowers and seems more of a pain than he is worth. Finally when someone steals the statue and the god disappears, Jorian pretty much considers it good riddance.
Everyone keeps telling me I have to read ‘Small Gods.’ It’s on my list.
The idea that fantasy gods draw their power from their worshipers is one that appeals to me, and I enjoy the idea of a dynamic roster of gods whose power rises and falls with the fortunes of their churches in the material planes.
Attack of the slugbats and snake-man
Posted: March 20, 2010 Filed under: art, creativity, exquisite corpses, inspiration, project, publishing, technique 1 Comment
OK; here is where I call this one ‘finished.’ I could keep working on it ad infinatum, but I think I made some mistakes early on (particularly in layout/positioning of the figures but also in rushing through the initial sketch — the figures look particularly wooden and stiff) so I’m going to move forward and see what lessons I can draw from this while forging ahead.I definitely need to work on my patience and try to find more ‘source material’ to use for the positions of hands, muscles, etc. Both of these figures look like scare-crows or robots and the slugbats look like flying green bananas. I think the blue snake-man looks wierd the way he is wrapped around the pillar (it does not look 3d to me) and I wish I had made his body skinnier.
I like the cave but need to work on making the rocks appear more textural. I also think the cave should be much darker and rougher-looking.
I look forward to trying this again!
More work on Exquisite Corpses Cover
Posted: March 18, 2010 Filed under: art, exquisite corpses, inspiration, project, publishing Leave a comment
I did a little more work on the “slugbats” and the humans, some work on the snake man and added the underpaint for the flames that the slugbats can shoot out of their eyeball. Although I like the general layout, I worry that once I crop it (so the left side ends up on the back cover and the right side ends up on the front cover), the image may not make a lot of sense. I also don’t like how 90% of the slugbat that is blasting the man is hidden by the snake and the woman, or that 90% of the woman is wrapped up in the snake… so after I work on this some more (for the practice) I’ll take another crack at it.
Below is a ‘mockup’ of what the cover might look like; I think you can see my concerns a little more clearly this way:
I have a book with lots of ‘pulp era art’ — one image of which I think will work if I swipe the layout. The book is “Art of Imagination” that I bought at closeout a while back — the book is worth more than the ~25.00 that the used sellers are charging for it on Amazon (in my opinion). I’ve never read the text, I’ve just looked at the gorgeous reproductions on every page.
But I plan to do a lot more work on this one before I give up on it — even if I don’t use it for Exquisite Corpses, I need the practice!
Try to do something creative every day
Posted: March 16, 2010 Filed under: creativity, exquisite corpses, inspiration, philosophy, project 5 Comments
I’ve felt mentally and emotionally starved for the better part of the past several years. First the stress of losing my job, then getting a new job and all of the financial ups and down associated have really taken their toll. One of my goals, to help combat the malaise that all of these ups and downs bring, is to try to do something creative every day… whether that’s working on a painting (see in progress above) or doing some sketches or even just looking at other work that interests me.
The above is an ‘in progress’ shot of the final cover for Exquisite Corpses. I have some reservations about this artwork and may try a different version. The image is the entire cover (front and back) with the left half appearing on the back cover and the right half appearing on the front. It portrays 2 ‘pulp style’ warriors (male and female) in a tunnel fighting a blue snaky thing with a human head (the snake-guy is coiled around the woman) and a slug-bat eyeball monster fighting the man. On the back cover, two more of the slug-bats flap up to get in on the action.
THE HORRORS OF IT ALL!
Posted: February 7, 2010 Filed under: adventures, art, comics, creativity, inspiration, picaresque, reviews 1 Comment
At the Mountains of Madness
Posted: September 26, 2009 Filed under: creativity, Cthulhu, evil, inspiration, Lovecraft, monsters, movies, picaresque Leave a comment
A movie trailer for a film that doesn’t exist (but I wish it did) mocked up by someone with access to a lot of footage from expeditions to Antarctica and a great visual sense.
Why can’t we get films like this one?