Aeron Alfrey creates unique imagery inspired by strange fantasy worlds filled with monsters, magic and death. His art has been published in numerous books and shown in galleries around the world. His monsters, perfect for our “12 Days” feature, are often frightening, but all are so intricately designed that every time you look closely something else […]
If the truly Weird causes a sense of great dread, then the grotesque provides another approach to the inexplicable through aggressive horror and humor. Geoffrey Galt Harpham argues that the truly grotesque stands “at the margin of consciousness between the known and unknown…calling into question the adequacy of our ways of organizing the world” (3). Caught […]
I first met Travis Louie in 2008 at Carrie Ann Baade’s Surrealist Tea, where a lovely group of artists got a chance to meet and eat tiny delectable sandwiches and drink a good spot of tea. I imagine the Victorian beasts of Louie might do something similar, for certainly they seem to be the most well behaved of all […]
O.L. Samuels is an artist who makes his strange and beautiful creatures “with the help of the spirit.” Each piece is carved very precisely based on how the spirit moves him and then he spends hours painstakingly decorating them. He has used tree trunks, branches and roots, layers of paint, glitter, sawdust and beads. Surprisingly he is […]
I was first introduced to Ray Caesar’s work when writing the catalogue essay for Carrie Ann Baade’s Cute and Creepy show, which was exhibited at Florida State University’s Fine Art Museum this past October. I haven’t been able to shake the images of his haunting, and haunted, beauties ever since. Trapped forever between woman and girl, […]
Please join us in welcoming Nancy Hightower as a regular art columnist for WFR.com! Read more from Hightower on her blog. — The Editors When people use the term “grotesque,” they often mean many different things: bizarre, monstrous, unsightly, weird, nightmarish, or gross. But if there was one specific characteristic that I would wish for you to take away […]
Over a blank white paper come a smirking, creeping, posturing devil horde of things, grotesque, weird, macabre, sinister, misgiving and alarming, before which the creatures in Comus and The End of Elphintown retreat abashed. And then with a seeming flick of his faery hand, we see only a harmless fop of George I, a charming little lady at her toilet, […]
The following general introduction by Nancy Hightower was first published in the catalog for the Cute & Creepy Show curated by Carrie Ann Baade (Florida State University). The catalog also contains Hightower’s extended exploration of specific pieces in the exhibit. Please see our other Cute & Creepy coverage this week, including a gallery, read the Curator’s Note, and visit Nancy […]
Last month something wonderful happened in Tallahassee, Florida — an event that brought together people from all walks of life and all artistic persuasions. Florida State University presented the Cute & Creepy Art Exhibit, guest curated by Carrie Ann Baade. The Opening Night was Friday, October 14, 2011. Attendees were entertained by circus acrobats while the music of […]