I was zooming through the art world at or near lightning speeds. That was made possible by the formidable but ultimately transient technology of the century in which i am currently embedded. No doubt, I will continue to reside within that fleshy envelope; whatever the twenty-second century holds will remain an elusive dream, thanks to my own frail and temporarily meaty temporal nature.
While busily engaged in the aforementioned technological interface, I realized that one of the painters of whom I spoke the last time we encountered each other in this particular digital realm had extended the exhibition dates of their current gallery engagement, through this weekend.
Anyway, I swear to you – upon the only holy scripture I am aware of – that the last time I took a long cold look at the website generated by The Proposition Gallery in New York City, it was quite clear that Ancient Sci-Fi Update would float away into the realm of memory and digital documentation at February’s snow end. But it turns out the show ends tomorrow.
That is double plus good if you are going to be haunting through the alley behind CBGB’s tomorrow and after you are done wandering want to take a look at some very interesting examples of twenty first century painting .
I am talking about the work of Megan Burns of course. Shes been on io9 and stuff, but I am relatively certain I ran into her images whilst engaging an electronically generated set of Boolean operators tuned towards the concept of science fiction art and accessed through a device very similar to the one you are currently using to visualize this post.
Finding her images to be alluring, humorous and painterly all at once, I did some further research and ended up by using electronic means to contact the artist to ask after her process and vision, et cetera.
Well, she was kind enough to reply.
Here’s that interview and some recent images by the artist interspersed, like the universe, with random precision, too.
What are you working on now, new projects, et cetera…
I have a day job at Public Art Fund, a non-profit that presents contemporary art exhibitions in public spaces throughout New York City. I work on my painting in whatever time I can steal- nights and weekends. I work on one new large painting at a time, and each one could go in any direction. The larger project is always in the back of my mind, but really I approach each new painting as they come.
Slice
The Omega Level blog calls your work “pin-up space babes art”: is that an accurate description? Is there more or less to that assesment? Are there symbolic elements incorporated into the work or is it perhaps the unified vision of your imagination, sans politics or polemics?
Those are basically my own words; I describe my paintings as “Science Fiction Pin-ups” because that’s precisely what they are. My inspiration comes from a hodge-podge of science fiction movies and comic books, as well as cheeseball pin-up and fantasy art. In my own mind they all have a running subplot of body terror and abject failure, but I find that most viewers see exactly the opposite: Girl Power. For example, “Hypnoray” was meant to be a moment of failure for the red-suited girl. She has built a visor to protect her from the dreaded ray, but it isn’t working and she ends up paralyzed. More than one viewer told me they thought the red-suited girl was projecting a blue beam from her eyes in a moment of power. Though it’s the opposite of what I intended, I enjoy being surprised at people’s interpretations.
Hypnoray
Instrumentality (live models, costumes, sets) or pure conceptualization?
They usually begin as a concept: some small idea or image, and I’ll build from there with sketches. Once I have a basic concept, I’ll take source photographs, sometimes of others but usually of myself. Then I play with those images until I have a source image to grid out onto the canvas. Things often change again from that point. I’ll do anything to serve the figure and make it as dynamic and weird as possible.
Three
I think your work seems to have been influenced by science fiction, graphic art and comic book art; though your attention to the figure goes way beyond that: any more formal influences in the dynamic representations of the human figure that your work references?
The comic book influence is heavy. As a kid I learned to draw by copying comic book art, but really only wanted to draw pin-ups of floating superheroines- it always seemed like life drawing without that pesky gravity problem. I like to mix that silly, floaty feeling with the best figuration I can muster. I love Mel Ramos, Frank Frazetta, Alberto Vargas and Gil Petty for the same reason. But those guys are considered low-brow… I’ll be the first to admit my fine art references are slim.
Monster Rug
I saw details from your piece, “Self-Portrait as a Groupie in the Hyatt House” at your website and thought it was interesting, if you’d like to comment on it…Also, “Self-Loathing Weekly”…
The Hyatt House was a sculpture project where I built a fantasy dollhouse based on the famous hotel in LA. Inside each room, I depicted myself as a groupie (or series of groupie clones) with my favorite rock stars: Zeppelin, Bowie and the Stones. I made Self-Loathing Weekly (a fake magazine with self-deprecating articles) at the same time- it represents the flip side of the sexy, confident hubris projected into my groupie/sci-fi babe persona.
Self Loathing #2
Self-Portrait as a Groupie in the Hyatt House (Detail: Doing Coke with David Bowie)
Would you rather walk through an alley in London, admiring the latest street-art, visit the ruins of a newly discovered Aztec temple, or spend the afternoon at the Hirshhorn taking in the permanent
collection?
I’d choose being in a dark movie theater over anything!
Where is postmodernism headed?
Beats the heck out of me
Favorite book, cover illustration, comic book, painting?
Book: Lolita.
Cover: Frank Frazetta’s Vampirella #1.
Comic Book: Jean Claude Forest’s Barbarella.
Painting: Michaelangelo’s Libyan Sibyl.
Break Thru
Muscle Bed
Huntress