Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Obitulog

Phew--I think it's finished! (See the Sept. 4 post to see how the thing began, and the inspiration.)
It's also an illustration for my other blog, obitulog

I was recently reading about the contemporary philosopher, Derek Parfit, who claims not to be able to save images of his past, and hence rarely thinks of it. Perhaps he is able to work on moral philosophy because is he less burdened by his own identity and subjectivism. Such is not my case; my identity is hyper-subjective, full of associations. My past plays in my mind like a projector supplied with an endless, infinitely large reel of images.

I've used many sources as references to paint these faces.  They are not so much painted as engraved, scraped through paint. Am I one who bows before the graven image? Heck, I'm a far worse idolator than that--I engrave the things! In this painting you may recognize some of the faces: stars, starlets, rogues, heroes, prophets, and prophets of doom. They, and thousands of others, are engraved in the sequence that makes up my sliding puzzle of mental tiles.

2 comments:

  1. I see our grandma, pacman ghosts, Freddie Kruger, Nixon...that's all I can catch for now. You should make a comprehensive list. I'm terribly curious.

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  2. You are on the right track, just as you see it! While some of the faces (Nixon, pacman) are universally recognizable, others are meant for you to "channel", seeing your own past.
    That said, perhaps I should make more of a list. Among the faces, top down are: Vivian Leigh, Gaddafi (interestingly, not "the late" at the time of painting), Peter Falk, Schlitzy, Peewee, Little Boy, Liz Taylor, Pricess Di, Jacko, Gorbi(perhaps Andropov), Earnie Kovacs, Poppy Bush, Ken Lay, Henry K, Jimmy C, & John Lennon

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