Macabre Masterpieces Exhibit
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| "Sarcophagus and The Key to the Afterlife" |
It's a 3D found object assemblage, under glass. fyi - I have made assemblages under glass before. And I have had an interest in them for a long time, since my ART 101 college days, when we were given an assignment to go into the world (i.e., off-campus) and find art. Some of my favorite artists are Joseph Cornell, Vanessa German, Nick Cave.
My interest in the macabre goes back to when I was a middle schooler and read Alfred Hitchock short stories and wrote scary stories for my 8th grade English class. I had a lot of fears as a child and it was my way of coping, I think. I still have the Alfred Hitchock books: "Haunted Houseful", "Stories that Scared Even Me" and "Stories NOT for the Nervous".
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| Detail of the suspended key |
My assemblage is based on the theme of the ARTS council gallery curator’s requirements for the show:
- Title: Macabre Masterpieces
- Theme: Ghoulish, creepy, and morbid art inspired by the gothic and unusual
Here’s what I submitted:
“Sarcophagus* and The Key to The Afterlife”
* a coffin, Greek origin meaning flesh eating
By Barbara Hall Blumer
14” x 14” x 16”
3D Found Object Assemblage
Description:
Under glass, a story is happening. A sarcophagus is now filled with human teeth and the key to the afterlife is levitating while an awakened mummy hovers with a razor blade embedded in his head.
p. s. Mummies don't have blood.
Components:
Antique key, human teeth, resin teeth, white sand, wire, pins, dark gray ceramic planter, turquoise ceramic birdbath pedestal, artist’s mannequin, tea-dyed cheesecloth, carved dried crabapple, razor blade, mirror, glass cloche
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| Detail of the mummy's head |
Notes:
I carved the mummy’s head from a crabapple.
Most of the other elements are things I re-discovered in our basement...or in my studio...or in our kitchen drawers. Except the teeth.
---Barbara
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| Detail of the teeth |