(BTC) Invocation of Angels (Grey Cross)

BTC Stands for "Behind the Curtain". Its a look at work created by various artists, photographers and creators around the world. 

Its a small peak behind the curtain as to how the piece was created and the conceptual ideas behind it. 

All art comes with a story. 

Everything is connected. In Assimilation Art we teach that no piece of art is ever really finished. We just draw an arbitrary line where we think it should be over and done. This is not just the rule for art, but for music, writing, and any of dozens of other creative works. 

Consider a book for instance. That book may spawn sequels, prequels, fan art, books about the books, maps, homages, etc. Nothing is ever finished unless the creative draws the line. And even then it will not stop the avid fan from going further with it. 

With this in mind, it never surprises me when a piece of art spawns something new. 

In 2007 I was working on a sculpture that used a twisted piece of wood for its base. The shape reminded me of a tornado, so I set about turning it into one. 

I liked the finished work, called "The Long Dark Night" but it was not a particularly practical piece of art. The shape made it hard to display anywhere and the size (about 3 feet tall) made it a bit unwieldy. And for some reason it was very difficult to photograph for sale. As a result it stayed in the studio (and is still here to this day). 

But periodically I've taken it off the shelf and used it as a still life piece to create digital art from. 

Now one thing that isn't apparent at this angle is the top of the tornado. The clouds are made from cotton batting stretched over a mesh wire frame. Buried within the clouds are golden skeletons that peek out through the clouds.

Its very subtle. Depending on the lighting of the piece the skeletons often get overlooked. 

Its a very hellish looking scene though which reflects the tornado raging below them. 

Of course one of these images was used as the base for the Invocation of Angels piece. Something about those skulls caught in that red vortex I find very chilling. 

But it goes to show that art can be made of art. Ideas can be shifted to create new ideas. Even though the original sculpture was more of an experiment, it still yielded other art and will continue to do so in the future. As long as its here, I will continue to pull it out and experiment with it.