"Rosie's Tea Party"
painting by Mark Ryden,On oil canvas, 2005
If you are unfamiliar with the work of Mark Ryden he is a man of mystery and somewhat a living legend in the world of contemporary art. Combining classic surrealism with pop culture oddities, his paintings show a childlike vulnerability with a dark twist, Themes such as butcher-bunnies, parades of raw meat and celebrity caricatures contribute to his world of twisted child-like fantasy and barbaric beauty; so imaginative and unique is Marks work that it’s hard to rope him to one gene. His art offers a commentary on the current state of pop culture in the US and even humanity itself.
I aim to created my own twisted childhood themes and deliver them in photographic form, I will aim to catch the viewers eye then give them enough detail to look closer and find “the twist” using pastel colours and soft lighting to show innocence next to deep reds of meat and decapitated toys.
I see most of them happening in a picnic garden scene with one blonde girl or possibly one blonde and one dark haired girl. Dressed in an “Alice in wonderland” style dress the blonde in pink and white and if I have a dark haired girl in green and white, sitting on a picnic blanket or having a tea party with meat, white rabbits and decapitated toys for company. Instead of tea I will use dark red food coloured water to give the illusion that they are drinking blood.
I want my photos to be unique and true to my style, I want to use some “shock value” to reach my audience, I want to be very recognisable and different from my other photography peers, I will also be using editing programs to gain the best result, but I prefer the natural light for outdoor work, I will use this year to grow and learn as much as I can to aid myself so that I can better my final portfolio.
I chose this “twisted childhood” perspective because I like making people second guess what they see, I don’t want my audience to walk away and mealy say “My word that was quite nice” then never think of it again, I want them to be shocked and taken-a-back, I want them to be drawn in and spend time with my work, I also like the way it shows that even in this sterile technology life we live now we are not perfect, that things are not as they seem, people forget that sometimes…well that’s what I think.
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