Robert Steven Connett

SOMNAMBULANTS

Robert Steven Connett (1951-) is a contemporary surealistic artist. His work is marked by the details, vivid colours, biology and environmentalism with a strong macabre attitude. David Carmack Lewis stated in 2010 about R.S.Connett the following:

There are artists out there who eschew traditional approaches to drawing but are nonetheless obsessed with detail as a way express what are often frightening visions of the world in general and humanity in particular. H. R. Giger and Chris Mars spring to mind. Their roots lie in the dreamlike visions of Heironymous Bosch. It is a difficult artistic path. Most who try it fail to develop a unique vision or compelling style and get mired in cliché psychedelia. This kind of work is often driven by direct experiences with drug addiction, insanity or both, which can explain the rarity of finding such artists who also have the discipline to excel. R. S. Connett has become one of those exceptions.

Visit his SITE to see more of his work and also his Facebook

Memento Mori

PHARMAGARDEN

Death Moths

FEAST of the HAVENOTS

CURIOSITY

Evolutionaries

Supplicant

Crucifixion 001

Dreams & Nightmares

TRANSVOLUTION

Kobayashi Eitaku: Body of a courtesan in nine stages of decomposition (1870)

Painting, handscroll. Ink and colour on silk. Sealed.

The scroll shows the stages of decomposition of the body of a woman, beginning with her fully clothed body and ending with her bones being eaten by dogs. The subject is an ancient Buddhist one, treating of the transience of the physical body, but which later assumed didactic functions relating to the proper conduct of women. In this example, however, the theme is given a new and somewhat prurient twist by its featuring of a prostitute as the subject. The work intersects with the world of ‘erotic pictures’ (shunga) and gives a very useful counterpoint for studying that genre. A prolific and versatile artist trained in the traditional Kano school, Eitaku achieved success rather through ukiyoe works and newspaper illustrations, but his reputation in Japan is not yet as high as it should be. Like many important artists whose careers straddled the end of the Edo period and beginning of the Meiji era, Japanese scholars have found it problematic to classify him. (www.britishmuseum.org)

Dr. Brillenschnitzel - drawings from an other universe

Dark and horror surrealism drawings with gothic atmosphere and aesthetics that seem to be inspired from Edgar Allan Poe’s stories and Edward Gorey’s illustrated books.

 For more of these fascinating works visit his site Dr. Brillenschnitzel - drawings from an other universe

Les Diableries

Les Diableries is the title of a series of stereoscopic photographs published in Paris during the 1860s. The photographs, commonly known as stereoviews, portray sculpted clay vignettes which depict scenes of daily life in Hell. Much of the subject matter was satirical and mirrored the corruption and excess of Paris during the Second Empire. Napoleon III’s authoritarian rule was repeatedly the subject of criticism, as was the decadent lifestyle of the bourgeoisie. A total of 72 scenes were published. The photographs were reverse colored by hand, then backed with a layer of tissue paper and sandwiched between two double window cardboard mattes. This format of stereoview is similar to modern day slides or transparencies. For added effect, the eyes of the skeletons and various other creatures were pierced and dabbed with colored gelatin, causing their eyes to glow red. The final product was then viewed through a stereoscope which produced a realistic 3D effect.

For the full collection and other effects visit London Stereoscopic Company - Official Web Site

The Jersey Devil

Jersey Devil, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, January 1909

The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many different variations. The most common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly as to avoid human contact, and often is described as emitting a “blood-curdling scream.”

Jon MacNair Art

There are many possible origins of the Jersey Devil legend. The earliest legends date back to Native American folklore. The Lenni Lenape tribes called the area around Pine Barrens “Popuessing”, meaning “place of the dragon”. Swedish explorers later named it “Drake Kill”, “drake” being a Swedish word for dragon, and “kil” meaning channel or arm of the sea (river, stream, etc.)

KGBigelow

The most accepted origin of the story, as far as New Jerseyans are concerned, started with Mother Leeds and is as follows: “It was said that Mother Leeds had 13 children and, after giving birth to her 12th child, stated that if she had another, it would be the Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child’s father was the Devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horse’s head, bat wings and a forked tail. It growled and screamed, then killed the midwife before flying up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergy exorcised the demon for 100 years and it wasn’t seen again until 1890.” 

Olli Hihnala

“Mother Leeds” has been identified by some as Deborah Leeds. This identification may have gained credence from the fact that Deborah Leeds’ husband, Japhet Leeds, named twelve children in the will he wrote in 1736, which is compatible with the legend of the Jersey Devil being the thirteenth child born by Mother Leeds. Deborah and Japhet Leeds also lived in the Leeds Point section of what is now Atlantic County, New Jersey, which is the area commonly said to be the location of the Jersey Devil story.

Skeptics believe the Jersey Devil to be nothing more than a creative manifestation of the English settlers, Bogeyman stories created and told by bored Pine Barren residents as a form of children’s entertainment, and rumors arising from negative perceptions of the local population (“pineys”). According to Brian Dunning of Skeptoid, folk tales of the Jersey Devil prior to 1909 calling it the “Leeds Devil” may have been created to discredit local politician Daniel Leeds who served as deputy to the colonial governor of New York and New Jersey in the 1700s.

KGBigelow

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