His blog is peppered with obscenities. In a true fashion of an artistic rebellion, he refuses to censor himself. His art/graffiti/photography/mixed media installations often include images of women, caricatures and candid camera shots, in various stages of undress. He paints, sculpts, builds and, quite frequently, drinks while working.
Shock art, stripped of all pretenses and beaming with urban hyperreality, is his game and David Choe is his name. He dropped out of art school and made theft a habit to support his life style. He wrote books, made badass shoes any skater would die or sell his skateboard for and traveled all over the world. He has always been and still is, without a doubt, much cooler than thou.
But the way he approaches each one of his art works is so nonchalant and matter-of-fact and down to earth, watching him create his art pieces almost makes his observers cool by association. He has got that enigma that elevates him to a level of quiet reverence and makes him a memorable persona in any setting. But he is also the kind of a guy you can meet at 3 in the morning at a Seven Eleven and have a life-changing, semi-drunken heart-to-heart, instantly becoming friends for life.
However, Choe is not just some rebellious drunk, who just happens to be good at playing with oils and watercolors. In a tongue-in-cheek update of Degas’ “L’absinthe”, Choe demonstrates both his knowledge of art history and his understanding of emotional underpinnings that made the original painting so unforgettable. Choe’s woman in the painting retains the traces of the original 1876 wardrobe, but her demeanor changes from that of melancholy with a slight hint of despair to bold sass with a hint of disdain for her observer who is invading her space. She eyes her intruder up and down and is like, “Whatchu starring at? Move along, this is my space.”
Where does she come from? She is frail and her womanly curves are but sharp angles. Shoulders, breasts, collar bones – angles, angles, angles. Almost with an air of teenage innocence and defiance, she is not clinging to her oblivious boyfriend and she is not interested in devouring the mystery meal on a table next to her, despite her fragile frailty. On the contrary, this girl is anything but a damsel in distress.
She fights back her observer’s gaze with a deadly stare of her own. She is firm in her unwillingness to make new friends or engage a stranger in a meaningless chit-chat. This timeless bohemian princess has been transported into modern-day Los Angeles and now rules her domain with an iron fist.
Shock art, stripped of all pretenses and beaming with urban hyperreality, is his game and David Choe is his name. He dropped out of art school and made theft a habit to support his life style. He wrote books, made badass shoes any skater would die or sell his skateboard for and traveled all over the world. He has always been and still is, without a doubt, much cooler than thou.
But the way he approaches each one of his art works is so nonchalant and matter-of-fact and down to earth, watching him create his art pieces almost makes his observers cool by association. He has got that enigma that elevates him to a level of quiet reverence and makes him a memorable persona in any setting. But he is also the kind of a guy you can meet at 3 in the morning at a Seven Eleven and have a life-changing, semi-drunken heart-to-heart, instantly becoming friends for life.
However, Choe is not just some rebellious drunk, who just happens to be good at playing with oils and watercolors. In a tongue-in-cheek update of Degas’ “L’absinthe”, Choe demonstrates both his knowledge of art history and his understanding of emotional underpinnings that made the original painting so unforgettable. Choe’s woman in the painting retains the traces of the original 1876 wardrobe, but her demeanor changes from that of melancholy with a slight hint of despair to bold sass with a hint of disdain for her observer who is invading her space. She eyes her intruder up and down and is like, “Whatchu starring at? Move along, this is my space.”
Where does she come from? She is frail and her womanly curves are but sharp angles. Shoulders, breasts, collar bones – angles, angles, angles. Almost with an air of teenage innocence and defiance, she is not clinging to her oblivious boyfriend and she is not interested in devouring the mystery meal on a table next to her, despite her fragile frailty. On the contrary, this girl is anything but a damsel in distress.
She fights back her observer’s gaze with a deadly stare of her own. She is firm in her unwillingness to make new friends or engage a stranger in a meaningless chit-chat. This timeless bohemian princess has been transported into modern-day Los Angeles and now rules her domain with an iron fist.
"Design Delirious"
No comments:
Post a Comment