Thursday, May 24, 2012

More inspiration




These are a few more images from the inspirational slide show that plays when my laptop goes into screensaver mode. A huge majority of the images are ancient, tribal, and ceremonial, though there's also plenty of work from cartoonists I love, as well as photographs of outer space and caves. These images, to me, are so full of a mystery, intensity, and vitality that's missing from most modern art I see. Looking at these pictures makes me excited and inspired on so many levels. Embodying creatures from the subconscious and organizing thoughts into word-symbols and story-drawings is what I want my daily work to be. Art connects the imagination to reality through the intensive act of doing. I wish I could know exactly how these artists thought and felt about the world as they created these works.
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6 comments:

  1. Jim GullettMay 27, 2012 at 8:50 AM

    This is fascinating. Where was the place of origin of the bottom piece?

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  2. Theo EllsworthMay 28, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    It's 11th or 12th century Mayan. Supposedly there were hundreds of these accordion-fold books made of bark. All of them were destroyed by the Spanish Missionaries except for four that miraculously survived. They've all been reproduced in book form at one point or another, and they're absolutely beautiful. The image above is from the Dresden Codex, which I don't have yet but I do have a copy of The Codex Borgia and I highly recommend it. It's definitely one of my treasured books.

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  3. Jim GullettMay 28, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    And correct me if I'm wrong, but the third image down appears to have Asian characters on it. Has this been reproduced in book form as well?

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  4. Theo EllsworthMay 28, 2012 at 8:39 PM

    It's Japanese. The characters depicted in the drawings are of a mythological creature called the Kappa which have indented bowls in the tops of their heads that they carry water in. They're often depicted as part turtle. I don't know much about when the drawing was made yet, but I've found a few more images online that look like they're part of the same set of drawings. Hunting down a book of these is definitely on my list of things to do.

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  5. Tom HartMay 29, 2012 at 8:47 AM

    Holy fucking God Theo. That third image is NW indians- I forget the tribe, forgive me but their imagery is so haunting. I have one postcard from them I can't even bear to look at, it pierces my heart. An image of their painted storehouses along the river. I forget if they are photos by Curtis or what. Anyway, thanks for posting, Theo, and post many many more please

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  6. Theo EllsworthMay 29, 2012 at 11:27 AM

    Thanks Tom! I completely know what you mean. All the photos I've seen of NW indians and their costumes and houses are completely haunting and beautiful. They stir up strange and unidentifiable emotions in me to be sure. I want to go back in time and live with them. The very top image is from the same series of old photographs. You can actually see that same character standing in the very back of the group portrait. I want to research more and find out who took these pictures and see if I can find them collected in a book.

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