Depicting Street Violence & Catastropies

[Merlion]

We are now being surrounded by news of bomb attacks, carnages, and natural catastropies all over the world. As I cannot hide myself in my studio/workshop, I thought I would start a series of art explorations depicting these horrific events. They are of course not artworks intended for sale.


Two simple examples are as shown. I expect they'll be modified and made more complex.

[Merlion]

These sad photos below of floating baby corpse had been posted under a different thread about my babies line of exploration. I'm showing them here again as they depict flooding disasters like the recent ones due to hurricane Katrina or the Asian Tsunami.

The Asian Tsunami with it's extremely high death toll of more than 250,000 is due completely to natural cause. The hurricane Katrina, while natural, has human elements in its flooding devastation effects and some may argue in its cause as well. While it's death toll of more than 1000 is comparatively small, it's effect is severe as 1.5 million people have been displaced by it.

[Merlion]

This rescue among concrete rubbles was sculpted in polymer clay sometime ago, I think after the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan.

This was the worst earthquake in Japan since the 1920s. Altogether more than 6000 people lost their lives.

It struck the city of Kobe with a high population density. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the "costliest natural disaster to befall any one country," (but it is likely this earthquake will cede that title to Hurricane Katrina for the 2007 Guinness Book of Records.)

[Merlion]

Once I started looking for relevant photos of old works, I have manage to find more. These two below are related to the same theme. Both are to do with deaths in a massive scale that unfortunately may still occur in our world today.

The first photo of a dying child and a waiting vulture depicts famine starvation. I called the artwork "Somalia, Ethopia, Niger".

Strictly speaking, in 2005 alone, quite a few other countries like Zimbabwe, S Sudan, and Chad also suffered from famine. These countries are all in Africa, and the main causes are very much man-made, like ongoing wars, internal struggle and economic instability.

The other photo of a pile of skulls depicts genocide killing. This is the horrid image one would see in some genocide museums like those about Germany's Holocaust and Cambodia's Killing Fields.

I called this artwork "Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Dhapur".

Genocides has been common in history, but in our modern world they still occur. The above five countries had genocides in our living memory. Again, this list is not exhaustive even among genocides in recent years.

[Merlion]

Previously I showed two burning cars. But they cannot show the lights coming from the fire.

I've now managed to put in suitable lighting effects to depict the recent overnight burning of cars in France. This photo shows the effect although it can still be improved.

In the 20 days of civil unrest in France since 27 Oct 2005, close to 9000 vehicles were torched. More (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_French_urban_violence).

[Merlion]

I have got another artwork photo about a very serious ongoing catastrophe killing millions of people around the world, AIDS.

Since this deadly disease was first recognized in 1981, more than 25 million people have died of AIDS. The number of death from AIDS in 2005 is estimated to be 3.1 million. More info (http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm). It is now a worldwide pandemic with 40 million people living with this disease.

For the world community, the issue is not only a matter of massive human suffering sparing nearly no countries, it is also a concern in terms of economic cost for most communities and countries. More (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3223567.stm)

My 3D model shows a HIV virus attaching itself to and sucking up our mother earth. Perhaps I'll call it "Got to Act Fast".

[Merlion]

Looks like this Thread has become a monologue show. :( Hey, everyone here, your comments are most welcome.

Anyway, I have just done another one, a bigger piece. It shows a window opening with bullet pock marks depicting the scars of urban battles on the walls of buildings.

Some of these are old scars to remind us of past wars. Often, they are not removed or patched up because of poverty. Unfortunately, and very sadly, many scars are still being added every week if not everyday, in towns and cities around the world.

[Arrow]

I like your ideas and enthusiasm on these bold subjects. I especially like the bullet scarred wall idea. A lone wall all shot to hell would be a intense symbol in my book.

[grommet]

Sorry to leave you alone & lonely.
For me, the images are too much like the news for the most part. I can appreciate your desire to respond to the pain you see in the world. For me though, I can only take so much at once & then I have to stop watching the news or ask my partner if anything good has happened. Where the images move beyond the literal I can appreciate your interpretation/message again. I think it's wonderful how you're attuned to humans in a global way. I think you must have a huge heart, but have developed the ability to "take it all in" without letting it tear you apart.

[oddist]

Grommet,

Very well said...

I have felt similarly since this post began.

I liken this type of work to "editorial cartoons"..poignant but topical..

Still, I have done things like this myself over the years to purge various emotional demons.

One does what one has to do to survive.

[Merlion]

I am glad to have your comments, Arrow, Grommet and Oddist. They'll help me in my exploration along this line.

How about comments on the technical aspects?

I had to go beyond conventional sculpture materials and do quite a bit of research and creative explorations.

For my last piece on the bullet pock marks, I didn't use real gun and bullets. (These are banned here, and constitute a severe criminal offence for owning them.) I got hold of some aerated cement blocks and created these holes with a small pick axe. For those who are not familiar, these blocks are have hardness similar to wood.

For the piece about HIV virus, I did some research using Google image search to find out what these viruses look like. And at a toy shop, I found this elastic rubber toy that looks very much like these viruses. These viruses spread by attaching themselves to human cells.

For the piece about a burnt car, I made use of silk mesh netting sold at shops for Halloween and Christmas parties, and place underneath it a bright light covered with a red film. The car is a scale model car with car windows broken and removed.

[Merlion]

I have now put human beings behind the bullet pock marked window which I showed earlier in this Thread. This puts a much deeper dimension to just showing the window.

I think I would call it "War Widow". Hope you like it.

[Blake]

Merlion
The figure is a good addition but if it were me in that window I would only just be pearing over the window sill rather than putting myself in full view for the sniper.
I often have to keep working an idea until I have defined exactly what I want to say, this is a good exercise keep going.
Blake

[Merlion]

Hi Blake, Thanks for your comments and your encouragement. I didn't respond earlier as we are getting near the joyous festive Christmas period. But now I notice it is exactly these war widows and others who suffers badly from natural and man-made disasters that we have to remember at this time.

I put the woman and her children in full view of the window opening as I happen to have a suitable relief sculpture ready at hand. This scene would be what we see after the fierce urban battles are over. The bread-winning man of the house is gone. Their home is badly damaged. The widow and her children now have to face an uncertain future of hardship.

A woman peeping out at the edge of the window would be what war photographers see and show the world on the news media.

Whatever it is, the key point is that adding the human face(s) makes a lot of difference to just showing an empty window.

With regard to your last comment, I am still working along this line. One of the new ideas is to depict bird flu and a potential cross nations pandemic.

On the other hand, I would be busy in the next month and a half. I have just got my first comission, a joint one with a more experienced sculptor, to make a life-size fiberglass statue with a tight deadline.

[Merlion]

This simple artwork is about a potential pandemic, H5N1 bird flu. It is deadly (motality rate as high as 56%), can be highly infectious (like ordinary flu), and can spread quickly across nations due to frequent air transport.

First the news story.

Bird flu identified in Indonesian pigs
14 April 2005

Indonesian scientists have found the H5N1 bird flu virus in a pig. The strain has infected poultry across east Asia, and killed at least 51 people so far.

Scientists fear pigs could act as a “mixing vessel” in which a human pandemic strain could evolve, because the animals can harbour both human and avian flu viruses.

But while suspected, such hybridisation has never been proven. [snip]

Full article from the New Scientist magazine is found here (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7268).

Further health news commentry from the Guardian newspaper in June 2005 is found here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1509437,00.html).

[Merlion]

If you could allow me to think aloud here. I've been thinking about how to display together the various artpieces (if I can call them this) I've shown here. In terms of a central theme, I suppose it would be about natural and man-made catastrophies.

And perhaps I can display them together with another complex artwork I've been working on which is extremely pessimistic in terms of outlook on humanity. It shows a man in deep agony sitting on top of a half globe placed in a pool of water depicting our world sinking. This work is in progress as shown below.

Attached to the surface of this half-globe and placed around it, I intend to show the evolution of the human species by showing various animal species in the human evolution family tree, all the way from the fish or earlier species to the chimpanzee before the homo sapien.

Currently works on the chimp and his ancestor species, the tree shrewd, are in progress, as shown below. Also shown are the Neanderthals, sort of ape-man, now extinct.

By the way, this half-globe with the animal species is showing a very pessimistic view of the living world only because I am putting a sculpture of a man in deep agony. If instead I put something else on top, say a joyous man, the view point can be very different.

Back to my original point. I was contemplating linking these artworks together as a even more complex artwork display. How do I do this? Well, this is the next tough question which I have to think through.

Perhaps I'll show the 3D work on violence, disasters and catastrophies as large photographs, each of them supplemented with write-ups. I get this inspiration from the French aerial photographer of our earth environment Yann Arthus-Bertrand. More on this later.

And thanks for listening. Your comments, any comments, are most welcome.

[grommet]

Attached to this 'world' and around it, I intend to show the evolution of the human species by showing various animals in the human evolution family tree, all the way from the fish or earlier species to the chimpanzee before the homo sepian.

How about these things in relief on the globe? I think as long as it's round-ish it will have the earth reference. Could have higher relief in areas, not unlike mountain ranges. Swirling in primordial ooze.

[Merlion]

How about these things in relief on the globe? I think as long as it's round-ish it will have the earth reference. Could have higher relief in areas, not unlike mountain ranges. Swirling in primordial ooze.

Thanks for the suggestions Grommet.

Relief of these animals was the first idea that came to my mind. But when I started to work on the chimps, I changed my idea to make it 3D, see two postings above. The reason is that I can next make a flexible mold and make a few casts. Some casts can serve as small stand-alone sculptures. But for one of it, I'll cut away the back at an angle and fix it to the inclined surface of the globe so that it can stand vertical. By the way, my half globe has a diam. of 36 in.

As to the other animals, I'll wait and see. As usual, new ideas can come along while we work on our sculptures.

It is an interesting idea of yours to make the globe's surface into a primordial or primeval ooze, perhaps like that on Rodin's Gate of Hell.

If I adopt this idea, I need to think through how to add it onto my fiberglass half globe that is already made. Need to squeeze out some creative juice. :rolleyes:

I've just tried out the idea. Rodin I suppose would first model his ooze with clay, and after this would make the mold and the cast. So if I don't use clay, I can use plaster. Although this idea works, see photo below, plaster is not permanent so it is not suitable.

As my half globe is made of fiberglass resin, perhaps resin filled with powder would work. At first I put in too much powder making the mixture too thick, see the same photo. A second trial test with less powder seems to work, see right hand photo.

[grommet]

definite possibilities, just be careful not to do cake frosting. :)

[JasonGillespie]

Merlion,
I think that you are using your talent in a way that isn't typical of many artists or sculptors I have seen who try and deal with global/social/political issues. You seems to have a marked lack of vitriol in your work. Usually such work is fairly brimming with venom for some group, institution, or person. Your work tends to be more about calling attention to the problem with out slinging mud. You have my respect for that. I would agree that it is better to light a candle than to curse the dark. Thanks or calling my attention to this thread.

[bluedogshuz]

Merlion,
This is a good post. I kind of think like Grommet that I have difficulty viewing images reflecting violence by artist because the media pounds my face with it every day. That you can get past that and express yourself is admirable. As I have said previously works like agony are poerful enough for me. I did a number of street violence scenes in college. I think at this point I can no longer handle it and only do work that is up beat. It is kind of my own way of combating the terrible things I see around the world. I suppose it may be percieved as a cop out. The only thing I had to do was a proposed drawing after 9-11. I felt the site in NY should of been a giant hole that one would walk up to with steam rising reflecting the spirits lost. As you looked down the hole you would see a water fall cascading around the hole and a flame in the center. I felt that the gross brutality of that act should be reflected as an open wound never to be covered up and incapable of adequately memorializing (sanitizing) similar to the VietNam memorial (I'm embarrased to say) simply makes me sob every time I visit.

[arcdawg]

I think that your artwork is fine as long as you arnt exploiding the subject (which I dont think that you are)

a few of us went into NYC last holiday season and we were down at ground zero and there were these SCUMBAGS trying to sell photos of the planes hitting the WTC on ground zero itself. Now its not ilegal for these SCUMBAGS to sell their garbage across the street but they are not allowed to sell on Ground zero property itself. So I more or less just pushed the guy away from me and then some city offical (or some guy playing a city offical) grabed the SCUMBAG and threatened him with jail time.

I was outraged that someone had the nerve to be selling pictures of people dying like that. I cannot call that art and nor would I defend his motives ($$)


in your case it seems that you are concerned about the plite of this world and you are using a medium to expess your concern. and that my man is ART.

ART should make people think, it should outrage some, it should speak to everyone that views it.......and your pieces do that very well.

dawg

[Merlion]

Many thanks for your comments grommet, jason, bluedog and dwag. Knowing mine is an unusual art exploration, every comment is appreciated.

I definitely have no intention to exploit these works. It is the other way round. I started off with the thought that they would never sell. But it is interesting that once this thought is clear in one's mind, one have the freedom to enjoy to explore in all directions.

I also started off with no intention of displaying them in exhibitions. But as I continue on this path, I may change my mind in this. This is when I notice these can be displayed as photos together with my complex artwork of a man in deep agony sitting on a sinking globe populated by representations of our animal ancestrial species.

About bluedog and grommet's reactions to images of violence and disasters, it is good for me to know. But I do expect different people can have very different reactions to such horrid images. Perhaps subconsciously I wish some viewers can be shocked to do something about such plights of our fellow human beings. Maybe. I don't know.

Now, this is giving me an idea. A man in deep agony on a sinking globe dragging down millions of years of development of our living animal world may give an image of doom, of frozen depression. This is of course not my intention. As I said, what I want is to shock to stir viewers into action. How?

Perhaps I put up at the end of the display something like, "Do something. The world has 6 billion people. A little bit by everyone can count a lot." Amen.

[Merlion]

I am fed up. It is not my day today. :mad:

There was I, composing my story to explain why I felt mentally exhausted by the complex sculpture I have been making. And my tired hand rested on a key which kicked my story off.

Now I am back to try again, a break from my clay modeling of two lizards making eggs :-)

This is one of the rare occasions I feel mentally exhausted by my sculptures. It is a further development of what I tried to describe in this thread. The concept is complex consisting a number of parts. Although the main parts are done, each of the minor parts require concentration which exhausted me.

Anyway, what it is like is shown below.

The man in deep agony squats on top of a half globe which will be placed on a shallow pool of water to depict the earth drowning. Around the globe I have installed three of a number of animal families that are ancestor species of homo sepians. On the globe I will put resin that looks like thick swirling muddy water.

[Merlion]

Now I am back to try again, a break from my clay modeling of two lizards making eggs :-)

Ha, ha! I enjoy the above statement and the clay modeling so much I need to explain more. The photo of the clay is shown below.

Technically my statement is correct. The two lizards are making eggs, not making love.

And one gets a different kind of feeling doing this type of clay models of course.

By the way, I would not debate why, but I would not make models of higher animal species doing this.

[bluedogshuz]

I tihink the agony on the globe is very poignant. It is a nicely done piece and expresses our fears. I remeber a tripytich I saw in chicago as a child, a painting of people building a city, the beautiful city the city blown to bits with the same people wandering around... futility... I never forgot that image and it motivates me even today.

[Merlion]

After a long delay, I can post the latest progress of my artwork developed on and off over nearly a year. The earlier ideas and partial trial tests have been posted in this thread.

I have just submitted photos of this artwork as my proposal for the Annual Show of Sintapore's Sculpture Society (http://www.sculpturesociety.org.sg/index.html) of which I'm a member. Every member is entitled to display one 3D artwork. So if all goes well, it will be shown soon in July at a large modern art complex here called the Esplanade (http://www.esplanade.com/SOPApp/espsop/portal_proxy?uri=SOB,3nyq!jv0.-fGaLu_tMPtwSnWw6uskkk2bpRsJFM). This will be my first public exposure (except minor attempts) as an artist.

I call it 'The Descent of Man' which is idential to the title of a book by Charles Darwin who first proposed the theory of evolution of living creatures including human. For the word 'descent', Darwin was referring to the ancestrial origin of the human species. I am also referring to the human and his ancestral species, but for the word 'descent' I take the other meaning - a downward movement.

My submission consists of three photos, see below. The first one shows a man in deep agony squating down over half a globe to which is attached a number of animals regarded as ancestors of the human species. The two other photos show a number of photo prints of my artworks depicting human carnages and catastropies.

Below is my short 'artist's statement' to accompany the photos in my artwork proposal.

"Since the turn of the new Millennium, we are bombarded with news of unending human killing carnages and catastrophes in many parts of the world. Many of us are feeling the agony that Man is on a descent into deep water, even dragging down with it the many animal species from which, through millions of years, the human species are descent. We have to play our part to do something, every one of us. This cannot be Man’s fate."

And to explain how to display the artwork, I wrote in the proposal,

"The above sculpture is the centrepiece of the artwork, size LxWxD 61x90x90cm or 24x36x36in. Ideally it should be placed on a shallow pool of water to depict a sinking/drowning feeling, and be periodically showered with water spray and lighted with light flashes to depict rain and lightning.

"Surrounding this centrepiece are displayed a number of colour photos of the artist’s other works, all showing different human carnages/catastrophes. Some of these photos are shown below, each 8R size (8x10in). Each of these photos is accompanied by short explanatory write-ups ..."

[ilona]

Merlion, I have a comment about this type of work that I hope you won't take the wrong way...it's just a personal opinion of mine. I don't really care for artwork that is too "in your face" or literal, especially when it is used to push a political agenda. I think that's why I haven't wanted to post on this thread much. Disturbing imagery, in my mind, should be handled very carefully. If it is too blatant or raw, it turns me off.

I guess the idea I might suggest to you is to aim for subtlety. That is just my opinion, though, which you are free to disregard.

[Landseer]

Merlion, interesting works with a theme! The title of your thread is "Depicting Street Violence & Catastropies" Have you thought about depicting a street scene involving a gang of youths with various weapons accosting someone unarmed maybe?
This is a pretty common confrontation- either random street violence or robbery.


By the way, I would not debate why, but I would not make models of higher animal species doing this.I would be inclined to, but the closest art Ive seen that isn't pornografied is that marble Pan and the Goat from Pompei, and if I can ever get photos of it from other angles I sure would try a model from the photos.

[Merlion]

Merlion, I have a comment about this type of work that I hope you won't take the wrong way...it's just a personal opinion of mine. I don't really care for artwork that is too "in your face" or literal, especially when it is used to push a political agenda. I think that's why I haven't wanted to post on this thread much. Disturbing imagery, in my mind, should be handled very carefully. If it is too blatant or raw, it turns me off.

Do give your views ilona. This is what this online Forum is for.

This artwork of mine is about humanity. And the earlier photos are about events happening around the world everyday afflicting a lot of people.

[Merlion]

Merlion, interesting works with a theme! The title of your thread is "Depicting Street Violence & Catastropies" Have you thought about depicting a street scene involving a gang of youths with various weapons accosting someone unarmed maybe?
This is a pretty common confrontation- either random street violence or robbery.

I managed to do some depicting burning overturned cars. I did them after the street violence and car buring by youths in Paris and other French cities about 6 months ago. I think one of them I showed here earlier (but for good reasons I didn't want to show here another depicting a burning Humvee).

I next planned to depict blacked chared out corpses. But I didn't do it as it is too disturbing, and as I got distracted by other ideas.