Where entomology meets fashion

French photographer and graphic artist Laurent Seroussi has created a fascinating series of personal works entitled  Insectes combining photos of women (with a rather high fashion aesthetic) and anthropods, including scarab beetles, a leaf insect, a scolopendra centipede, a member of Heteroptera (the "true bugs"), and more. The melding of the women with the insects (and other anthropods) is quite seemless, creating beautiful, contemporary composite creatures, like a modern twist on images of fairies. I find the beautiful images have the intriguing effect of humanizing the 'bugs' rather than making the women into creatures.

Scarabée Chinois

Punaise

Scarab

Scolopandre

Phasme

He has an extensive portfolio of photographic and video work, including the more editorial place where jewellery design meets botany.

↬jvdarcy on pinterest
 

Euphoria

I found this inspiring. I am a fan of murals and graffiti. Who doesn't love variations on the theme of the matryoshka, or Russian nesting doll? Or braids and rainbows? Mostly, the film makes this collaboration between Supakitch and Koralie, working on their installation Euphorie for the Metroplastique boutique exhibit in Paris, seems natural, organic and spontaneous. (via HonestlyWTF and fubiz)

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE "Euphorie" Paris from Raphaël Hache on Vimeo.

Or, for that matter, I do love calligraphy, Japanese art, anthropomorphic animals and paper boats too (from CULTURE MUSEUM // GÖTEGORG+).

Heads or Tails?

In time for Hallowe'en, I thought I'd bring you some illustrated mask-wearing personages, and dismembered body parts. Vancouver-based artist and illustrator Andrew Pommier draws and paints men who are ready for the worst. The may be wearing masks, or animal heads, dealing with ferocious pandas, or turning into trees, or be slouching through life carrying skulls.


"Hanging with the Gang" oil on wood 20" x 14" 2008


"Ready for the Worst" acrylic and graphite on wood 24" x 36" 2007


"Coming Upon a Scene of Carnage" acrylic and graphite on wood 20" x 24" 2008


"Fan Boy" oil on wood 20" x 24" December 2008


"Souvenirs from the Voyage" acrylic and graphite on wood 20" x 24" 2008


"Dinosaur Head" watercolour, ink, and graphite on paper 8.5" x 11" 2007


"Rabbit Head" watercolour, ink, and graphite on paper 8.5" x 11" 2006

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Subjects for anthropomorphism commonly include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse, forces of nature such as winds or the sun, components in games, unseen or unknown sources of chance, etc. Almost anything can be subject to anthropomorphism. The term derives from a combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".

[wikipedia]


The ancient Egyptian god Thoth appears with the head of an ibis, though sometimes, he has the head of a baboon. Thoth invented writing and is the god of scribes.






Killer rabbits, dancing cats and demons. Via BibliOdyssey here are some gorgeous examples from illustrations for children's literature. Also, some not-so-fit for children:




[images via BibliOdyssey]
In 1794, Wolfgang von Goethe adapted a medieval version of Reynard the Fox to produce an epic poem in hexameter 'Reinecke Fuchs' perhaps influenced by the events of the French Revolution. German artist Wilhelm von Kaulbach produced an elaborate set of steel engravings in the 1840s which were first published in the 1846 edition of 'Reinecke Fuchs'. The images above are from the 1857 edition.

That Reynard and his acquaintances got up to some mischief.


'La Lutte Artistique' (The Artistic Struggle)
Jules Worms, 19th century [via BibliOdyssey]

Though a trend in art as old as art, it seems to me to have been more prevalent in recent years in the collective unconscious. Why is that?


By Olaf Hajek. You should take the time to check out his extensive portfolio.
[via bohemian hellhole]



Check out the mysterious work of London-based photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten.

Winter Stories is the name of a recent exhibit by photographer Paolo Ventura, shown in Paris. His work blurs reality and fiction. I am particularly taken with this one:


[via Le Divan Fumoir Bohémien]

A local Torontonian, Michael Wandelmaier has some fabulous illustrations on favorite themes of animals and imaginary things (uh... and hair). Furry and feathered friends are more common than fish, but check out his work:

Something Fishy! 20×12.5″. Graphite on Bristol with digital coloring. 2008

I can not resist sneaking in this illustration by Victoria, B.C. artist Marc Johns:



By the lovely Princesse Camcam

There's always the haunting, beautiful and delicately-coloured work of Minneapolis artist Jennifer Davis.


yes
mixed media
9x12"


trouble in mind
acrylic/graphite
12x17"

Riikan Sormunen is a weird Finnish girl (perhaps that is a redundant observation) whose art portrays strange ideas about animals. So, is posting. She has a deviantART page too.


What, you say that penguin isn't doing anything that penguins can't do? Please. I am not that naive.

The anthropomorphic food seems less common than the anthropomorphic animals, but such images are not entirely absent. Check out the magical illustrations of displaced prairie girl Chelsea Cardinal. She has an incredible sense of colour, like a children's illustrator not afraid of nightmares.

Apple Head

It's all fun and games, until...

Check out the darkly beautiful work of Ericailcane.

Lepus timidus- puntasecca 35x50 cm, black ink on 320 gm, magnani avana paper,ed.ltd to 21, 2007




Funny games- puntasecca 25x35cm, black ink on 280gsm, magnani natural white paper , ed. ltd to 22, 2007





You will find etching, screen prints, drawings, wall paintings and more on the site. Also, I like the set-up; more intuitive than many artists' online portfolios.