| Art by Erica K. Giesen | |||||
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Mark RydenA Critical Review by Erica K. GiesenMark Ryden's symbol-laden artwork paints a world of utter chaos and irrationality, imparting its own special brand of logic on its viewers, along with answers that simply must be lurking just out of reach. It's as if the pastel-toned paint is laughing at you as it conglomerates to reveal nothing but questions. The paintings themselves have a presence all their own. The first painting I saw by the artist was found through casual perusal - by assignment - through full colour books at a library. "Butcher Bunny," I thought, as I read the title, "how quaint." Such a name of such a painting is not easily forgotten. The pastel-coloured image lingers at any time the subject is brought up. An overgrown plush herbivore smiles disarmingly at a customer as it cuts through slabs of meat with a saw. The customer, a young girl, turns a disapproving stare on one of her companions, a stunted figure of Lincoln. This is one figure that persists through many of Ryden's works, along with a certain religious icon. A typical statuette of the Christian icon appears small and insubstantial here, similarly to its appearance in "Princess Sputnik", where a similar figure of Jesus appears with a vapid smile as it rides on a toy rocket. In "Butcher Bunny", one would almost be worried a huge slab of meat will fall and crush the statue. "Butcher Bunny" clearly demonstrates the themes that are persistent through a large amount of Ryden's work, that being mass religion, popular culture, and bunnies. Combining familiar subjects and childish colour schemes seems to be Ryden’s way of drawing the viewer in for a closer look. The unfortunate bystander may be in for a shock if they were expecting an illustration aimed at young audiences. The paintings themselves form two distinct categories. Paintings such as “Butcher Bunny” are composed of complex environments containing everything from space suits to roses, and often carry one of his typical persisting figures. Others are portraits, of which the subjects are simpler, and tend to appear alone. Ryden’s Blood series contains several of these, such as “Rose”. This painting is a gloomy portrait of a young girl. The only bright colour that appears is red, occurring in brief spurts as the rose in the girl’s hair, her lips, and her bloody tears (or maybe this is runny mascara). Mark Ryden brings the subject of each of his paintings together with meticulous detail. The vast majority of his works are done in oil, which work well with his cartoon-like, surrealistic style. His art confuses and intrigues the viewer, who is unsure if the piece that he or she is looking at is seeped in philosophical depth, or exists simply to fool them into thinking so. There is, perhaps, no certainty in the artist’s crazed universe.
Sources:http://markryden.com/paintings/index.html | |||||
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All content © Erica K. Giesen
Portfolio photographed by Ottenbreit Photography
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