JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Brian Austin Whitney Blog Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

Hi Folks,

So I got an email today from my favorite artist. He's a really twisted and disturbing painter who I think is a genius but who could easily turn someone's stomach if they're easily freaked out by what someone can create with oil on canvas.

The reason for mentioning him today is that he's posted 3 animations he's done over the last 4 years and I think they are equally brilliant (and disturbing) but they also make really deep social observations using the most unlikely methods. Especially in his second piece (the middle on the page). You have to kind of let yourself get into a trance of just letting it wash over you as it plays. It only occassionally makes verbal sense, but when it does now and then, see how well it works in context of the grotesque visual aspects.

The artist is Chris Mars. Visit his site and click "animation." It's a new site and I think it requires flash to view and may not load right away. Don't bother if you have a slow connection. And don't go if you are easily disturbed by horrific (though completely surreal) visuals because you won't like it. Chris was the drummer for the band "The Replacements."

www.chrismarspublishing.com

Enjoy.. (or be horrified...) and share your thoughts on the animations. I am curious what other creative folks think. If you're totally unfamiliar with him, be sure to browse the painting galleries. It will give you the needed background to understand the world you are seeing in the animations.

Brian

He is definately artistic. Not quite my style but still in all he does some wonderful (if not interesting) work.

There's no doubt that some folks will find his stuff to weird to enjoy. His painting have that twisted apocolyptic mutated horror film sort of approach, but they often make interesting subtle points. I've been watching his stuff for many years but in the last couple the value of his work has gotten so high that real people can't possibly afford it any longer. Since I can't afford it (I missed buying a piece in Montreal a few years ago that has quintupled in value since then), I was really happy to see a new medium from him.

Brian

I couldn't get the animaiton to play, but I saw a lot of his paintings and drawings...and...I read his statements explaining his work - which was unbelievably moving; his motivation for artistic expression has to do with his love for his brother- who suffers from mental illness.

If I didn't know anything about the context of this very intensely emotional and dark form of expression, I wouldn't have
appreciated it or understood it at all. It's not the type of stuff I am drawn to at all...but....I found myself wanting to see more and more after I read the statement.

If you go to his site, please read the statement. It brought tears to my eyes. This guy is trying to bring "light" and understanding too some very painful issues.

Thanks for sharing rhis, Brian. It reminds me that art can heal and teach.

Emily

Emily,

You really need to get the animations to work. They may just need some time to load. Hit your space bar to activate them. (The site is a little weird program wise.. but I got it to work). The animations, especially the middle one, are eye opening... it captures the combination of mental illness and brilliance that often swirl about in creativity... very powerful on many levels.

I am so glad you "got" it.

Brian

Brian,
I only had a chance to view a small bit of Chris' work, but what I did see was extremely powerful. I saw beauty inside of ugliness. I saw evil hidden in the same way. The artist has chosen a very interesting way to embody his messages. Thanks for bringing attention to him.

Heidi

I haven't seen the animations yet but I did look at his paintings and read his statement.

Fascinating work - powerful and unique. A couple of them seemed like a visualization of something that H.P. Lovecraft would write.

Thanks for calling this to our attention - it's so exciting to see something new (to me) and powerful. I know next to nothing about the art world but I'm not at all surprised that the value of his work is rapidly increasing.

Scott

I think some of you may be missing the 3 Animation pictures that come up on the left side under the word animations when you click it. Click one of the pictures and the animation will start loading. It really is worth checking out. I get lost in those paintings for their creativity and depth and eerie connection to the real world.

Brian

The guy is clearly talented and I liked the animation but viewing all the artwork on the site was definately like a trip to hell. He took me there visually. He just brought it all to life on canvas. You know I got to looking at the video's and artwork closer and I will just add my two cents worth in here. I am sorry that the guy has a mentally ill brother and that it is a nice gesture to make artwork as a thoughtful act to him. But clearly people this is VERY disturbing. Seriously, if I wasn't already mentally ill before I could become this way looking at these disturbing pictures. Read what you want to into it. The bible tell us to take every thought captive. AS well as what we look at. Does that make you feel good? There is a video of a monster begging on the street down on his luck. I see what the message is suppose to be, but with the sound of a demon whining away??? Pleeeaaaaseeeeeeee! I think this is not glorifying God or anyone. Get ready to pray the demons out after this viewing.

Tammy

www.tammyedwards.com

Hey guys,
It is such an interesting thing to try to put yourself in the space of another artist in an effort to relate to their work....especially an artist such as Chris Mars. He evidentally must find great aesthetic pleasure in creating the grotesque images as vehicles for his spiritual messages. Why would an artist prefer to paint ugliness in an effort to display beauty rather than simply paint what is normally accepted as beautiful? IMHO, he is using outward images that usually don't get much admiration or communication from the world, and making the viewer force himself to confront that outward image in order to look for the deeper and more truthful meaning underneath. Now, that's a very brave approach as it may not garner broad or immediate acceptance. However, by the looks of his growing popularity, it must be working or his prices wouldn't be going up so high. What a noble and unique undertaking. Maybe, the world might be a bit less superficial and more understanding if his messages are both seen and understood. It takes a creative being to change the status quo. In many ways, along with the "Heaven" here on earth, we do also have a "Hell" founded in ignorance and the resultant fear or unwillingness to understand. That's a heavy area for most people to confront and Chris has found his way to help us confont it. Bravo.

I think any time someone can evoke such a response from oil and canvas is something to be appreciated. People watch images of actual humans being slaughtered in horror movies and consider it just fine. But showing deformed and grostesque images that, unless I missed something, aren't murdering each other is something that repels. not because of their actions.. for the most part they simply exist in a weird setting, but because they aren't attractive. Isn't it odd to have that reaction?

Now.. there may be some scenes of violence I am not remembering, but if there are, I don't even remember them. Regular TV shows tons of violence and attractive people flaunting skin, but these aren't sexy people.. they are far less. I think in a way our reactions to them should tell us something about our own inner prejudices... why are we repulsed by something that simply exists and takes no action? It's like an ugly bug or reptile.. people are scared and repelled by them.

I think anything that can get a strong reaction from our jaded world without gratuitous violence or sex or vicious verbal attacks is pretty impressive.

Just my thoughts.

Brian

I find it interesting that people tend to equate "disturbing" with that which is "unattractive" or outside of our preconceptions. There is a strangely compassionate tone to the paintings I perused (unfortunately, my browser is having issues, so the animations weren't an option). Some seem to me an attempt to connect with our own suffering and fears by laying bare the suffering and fear of some of the characters. Others seem to be a comment on the ugliness of certain human impulses. I think that one the artists great talents is that he can capture the sometimes subtle difference in character and complexity of the experience of suffering, whether by circumstance or by our own foibles. I think we can connect most directly with the characters through our own sense of emotional grotesquenss.
By the way, did not Jesus hang out with lepers and outcasts, the humble, and the ugly? Was it not his own compassion and humility that made him beautiful? And was not Lucifer the most beautiful of angels, but fell for his vanity and his attempts to sow prejudice and strife among the angels, and thereby divide the house of heaven?

Sean,

Interesting perspective. Thanks for checking it out! I think you'll find the animations very interesting once you get them working.

Brian

Sean, yes Jesus was the first one to hang out with the unwanted ones. I totally agree. But there is a difference between that and the violence I see being portrayed. In one video a robot befriends another robot. He gains his trust and they go on a quest to find God knows what. When they reach a room with some kind fo scroll of words a deep scary voice mumbles confusing jibberish nonscense that brings confusion to ones mind. That is not Christ like. If Christ lives in you the Holy Spirit gives your spirit a check and tells you that something is not of Him but of the evil one. We should not take that into our minds. I felt Satan immediately when I watched and heard that. If Christ truly lives in ones spirit He requires us to reject that. If you have not given your heart to Christ it will be very easy for you to be open to spirits of another nature. Beware! As the video continues the robot sneaks up to the other and knocks his head off and kills him leaving him on the floor with stuff leaking out from his head. The other robot touches his head as if to say I am sorry and gets his eyes to open. A somewhat attempt to try and make it right. Still very confusing. Definately demonic and from a distraught mind. If you know your scripture God has not given us a spirit of confusion and fear but one of a clear mind full of hope and clarity. I say protect your minds. If you do not, you will easily be swayed into dark thinking like this man. Even Satan can pass out talent. Everything Satan did when he fell from grace was to mimick the Savior he once loved and worshipped. He does it well. That is why so many people on this earth are deceived and blinded by Him. The most important thing is to figure out which God you are serving. Alot of people don't. God wants us to glorify Him in everything we do. I know I fall short all the time. I am not claiming to be perfect, no one is.

What I am trying to say is, it is fine to express yourself in whatever medium of art you desire. But what we all do has a spiritual aspect. This particular artist has a great vehicle for satan to travel in and he is drawing many people in through his vehicle. I worry for all people who don't know Jesus Christ because this would be most appealing to those. Protect your minds people.

Tammy

www.tammyedwards.com

Dearest Tammy,
I decided to go view that animation based upon your review of it. You know I honor your most sacred view of Jesus. So, I had to see what was up.

To me, it looked as if Chris Mars was showing through this piece the ill effects of mind-altering drugs. There was a young "menace" growing inside his mind as a result of those drugs. Then, the jibberish he was reading was a depiction of the lower form of hateful thoughts that go through one's mind when they are in that lowered awareness. If you listen to the words in the jibberish, they contained a very low quality of words (crap, shi... etc) .that were strung together without much sense to them. However, when a person is in that state just before life is no longer valuable to them, they are not making sense and they only relate to the lowest forms of communication.

If you remember, after he knocks the head off the robot, a few things occur. You again get the view of the "menace" inside of his head where all the pills are floating around as the obvious companion to his insanity. The menace has grown into a huge size, even bigger than the robot himself. The influence of the drugs and the resultant "menace" are overwhelming the robot. However, when he bends over in remorse, it shows that, even with this drug-induced menace, the robot is still basically good.

But, the robot is blaming others for his own condition, as depicted by his last line of "If it weren't for you...." Thus, he was not up to being responsible, but instead was putting forth blame. (This scenario of the combination of drugs and blame shows me more of Satan's evil than anything else)

The biggest point for me in this animation, was the fact that Chris is depicting humanity as robots who are obviously being controlled by drugs, even though the drugs are somehow related to this "menace" and people are killing people when they are on these drugs. (All nine college shootings involved the shooter taking these very drugs)

He then, ends this piece by having the head of the robot continue to be unaware of what is going on around him. This severed robot still talks about the inclement weather just like he was doing earlier at the piano. (I saw the piano scene as an example of the social chit chat people do without ever going deeper than the surface.)

Anyway, that's my take on it. Evil, to me, is something that causes a spirit to move away from its highest potential of good. Some people cannot see evil. I truly feel this artist is trying to get people to get better at looking so that they can truly see it.

For me, it's the principle of "Seek and ye shall find." So, that's just my take. We all see things from our own perspective. What truth you see is what is true for you. What truth I see is true for me. They are both truth the way we each see it.

BTW, if you look at the title of this piece, "Secondhand Loppo," and try to think of it as the theme of the animation, then you can possibly view the piece knowing that he is giving a message about a "lop" (to cut off or remove as unnecessary) that is "secondhand" (not obtained from the original source). I viewed that title as saying the story was about a severing of something deemed unnecessary which came from an outside source. Thus, the drugs and "menace" were the secondary source of the robot's urge to lop off the other robot's head.

Respectfully,
Heidi

There is a saying that beauty is only skin deep,while ugly goes right to the bone.A beautiful person can be ugly on the inside, while an ugly person can be beautiful on the inside.God looks on the heart and HE knows if a person is good or evil,we can only look at the outside and we make our assessment on what we see,and we equate ugly with evil and beauty with good,not always the case though.Satan can appear beautiful while he is ugly and evil right to the bone.

Heidi,

I thought the second robot was the firsts elderly father. And at the end, the second isn't dead as he seems to speak again.

I thought the middle one was the most interesting. Listen to the words when they aren't gibberish. Very deep concepts.

I sent a note to the artist and he told me that he did all the voices, animations and script. I didn't ask him his meaning behind it because the most fun thing is to view it through your own eyes/mind. I think it's really interesting that from different people it means very different things. That's the strength of art like this over more literal mediums that must tell you point blank what you're supposed to get from it.

Brian

Hey Brian,
Yes, I will certainly give it another view and listen. There seems to be many layers of communication going on, so I'm sure I'll gain more understanding by viewing it several times. What amazes me is that this artist took his art from the medium of painting and added the dimensions of animation, music, story, voiceover, etc. to create a multi-layered artistic communication. Unreal. I'd actually love to hear the artist's summation of what he was communicating after I try to see it for myself a few more times. Any possibility of that, Brian?

Heidi

Heidi,

I don't know. I've only gotten one previous email response from Chris and he only knows me as a fan of his work (which is the only way I've presented myself) so I don't know if he'd have time or interest in getting involved directly and I am hesitant to ask. I discovered his work as an artist without even being aware of who he was. I am sure that many folks become interested because he was part of a seminal Rock band but I think it is cool that I was entranced by his work before I had made that connection.

Brian

Tammy, I was not trying to enter into a theological discussion, I only meant to point out that beauty and disturbing are relative terms to our personal experiences. Furthermore, I was unable to open the animations, so I was writing directly about his paintings.
Maybe we could one day talk about our senses of faith, but that is not what I was trying to provoke, and I don't feel that this is necessarily the proper forum. I apologize if you took any offense. I will, however, offer this: if one's heart is truly full of God's love, then shaitani, or demons, or Satan and they're accompanying illusions simply have no power. Period. We learn far more through our compassion than our fears. There is no reason to fear any whispers in the back door to our hearts if our sense of faith is strong. Peace and blessings be with you.

Brian, I looked over the works. Most of it was a bit more complicated than I am used to.

I did not get Bot Film (it's original title) until I read your and Heidi's thoughts. Then it made some sence. The tyrade in the middle of the film was an interesting bit of word smithing. Seems like I knew someone that did well in that art, but now it escapes me...

My favorite is called Bard's Moment (the 3rd film). I actually found it quite humorous.

I thought the 3rd one was pretty sad actually.. hahaah. Thanks for checking them out! I think there's a lot of motivation to be found by looking at other types of art when making music.

Brian