Simmerin’ in the South

In honor of:

Magnolias and Margaret Mitchell,

Baptists and the blues,

The Appalachians and the Allman Brothers,

Pecans and peaches,

The Highlands and humidity….

Here are some beautiful examples of Georgia folk art. Offering so much more than crispy fried chicken (yummm), the great state of Georgia can boast some talent. John “Cornbread” Anderson, Floria Yancey, and Howard Finster are some noted folk artists who have gained renown south of the shores of Tybee Island and even north of Ringgold.

Georgia folk art is not complete without references to flora and fauna (Anderson), racial histories (Yancey), and religion (Finster). Together, these three artists represent the contentious history of our proud Southern culture, and the beauty that can be found within the Southern Struggle.

Kutting-edge Korean Kreations

Korean artist Seung Mo Park uses a meticulous wire-cutting method to create the intimate wire-mesh portraiture viewed above. This method involves first projecting the original photograph onto the wire, then slowly snipping away at multiple layers of wire to form the image. This psuedo-sculpting technique is entirely unique and the results have an indefinable dimension and depth. Below is a video and it can also be found here.

Stunning, Serpentine Symbols

Artist Guido Mocafico placed these often deadly serpents into rectangular boxes to achieve these geometrically staged and visually pleasing photographs. The first installment, Serpens Part 1, features more of the deadly creatures with stunningly patterned snakes, while the second installment, Serpens Part 2, features more developed positioning and vibrantly colored critters. Snakes usually give me the heebie-jeebies, but these beauties are just too stunning to ignore. 

Artist Spotlight: Thomas Allen

Michigan-based artist, Thomas Allen, specializes in book sculpture. Ironically, many of his “book-defacing” sculptures have been featured on the cover of novels, including The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (which looks quite interesting) and is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal.

Easter Egg Art

Artist Valentyna Galadza learned to create traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs (pysanky) from her mother. You can learn more about the craft on her website. Apparently, this tradition is thousands of years old- older even than the death and resurrection of Christ. When Christianity arrived in the Ukraine, this practice was adapted and became an important part of familial Easter rituals.

I adore the delicacy of her work, especially the “traditional” patterns. I wish my Easter-egg-dyeing extravaganza had been this productive. All I ended up with was green fingers and a bunch of cracked shells…

Calligraffiti

 is a cross between calligraphy and graffiti. The juxtaposition between the controlled elegance of calligraphy and the gritty industriality of the graffiti creates a new artistic form with which I am quickly falling in love. There are some amazing videos of his creations-in-action:

Video of Live Performance

Video of Tagging

Alphonse Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939)

One of the most interesting and distinctive Art Nouveau painters of his time and since, Mucha owes much of his remembered legacy to the diligence of his son, who spent much of his own life writing about the talent of his father. Many artists list Mucha as an influence, including one of my favorites: Stuckist painter Paul Harvey.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.

SOMEBODY MAKE ME A T-SHIRT.