If you haven't seen this yet...you must!

[ClocktowerArtworks]

Go here now!!!

This guy's stuff is incredible. I would stab my mother to be able to paint like this.

http://www.markryden.com

[geronimo66]

(cough) child molester (cough)

[ClocktowerArtworks]

i guess you saw in it what you wanted to.

[Main Loop]

pretty fuckin disturbing if you ask me..

[Presence]

something is so wrong with this dude:fruit:

[Brendan Noir]

man that stuff is beyond righteous. so up my alley

[ClocktowerArtworks]

finally, someone who appreciates this stuff. thanks for posting.

[Deceased Bobby]

Mark Ryden is brilliant. His work is absolutely beautiful. I'm a huge fan of dark imagery so I can appreciate it.

[Isric]

It *is* good, i just feel so uncomfortable looking at it, so i don't.

mayeb that's what he's going for?

[ClocktowerArtworks]

Isric: i think your avatar is more disturbing than any of mark ryden's work!:D

[JoShuA]

Tower, dude I read Isric's reply then looked at his avatar and thought the exact same thing!lol!!

the dude's extremly talented, ryden I mean,
Isric I agree with you, it's good art, it makes me feel... uncomforable as well. but, then again I guess that would make your avatar good art as well... man that is so gay.
(not that there's anything wrong with that).:conehead;

[Mr. Teatime]

this guys stuff is very good, its just even more disturbing than Isric. Ive never really liked seeing keds coverd in blood.

[Isric]

hahaha, i forgot i had that avatar.

no wonder no one's been taking me seriously

[AfroLaxMan]

about a year ago, his work wouldn't be nearly as disturbing to me. Now that my son is 7 month's old, I take things in a bit differently than I used to.
Ryden's work is well executed, and stirs my emotion and my intellect. He has great skill in his illustrations, but seeing babys in blood, or around violence is something that creates fear in me for my son.
This makes me curious (with this work, and all things controversial these days) what my son will be dealing with when he hits that important age of manhood and decision making (read: teenager).
Ryden is a very succesful artist, although one I wouldn't be eager to show off in my home.

Thanks for sharing, ClocktowerArtWorks.

[ClocktowerArtworks]

i too have a young daughter (15 months old...congrats on your son by the way), but i guess his stuff doesn't really bother me. I've always felt that it provides a nice balance in my life. got the cute kids stuff...got the neutral mainstream stuff...then the dark twisted unsettling stuff. i also urge people to look beyond the "Blood" exhibition paintings (they seem to be the most off-putting).

might take a look at http://www.keane-eyes.com

she's an artist of a similar style (but decidedly less disturbing) big-eyed surrealist stuff.

thanks to everyone for checkin this out.

[OLSEN]

Heres a similar artist, Trevor Brown. His stuff is more hardcore then Mark Ryden imo.

Think twice before you click here: http://www.pileup.com/babyart/

Enjoy, i know i didnt, but thats not the point is it. :D

[Sonnenkind]

The pictures with the blood make me feel uncomfortable, not because of the blood, but because everything is so neat and nice looking.

I then saw "Little Boy Blue" and I dunno, maybe I'm overreacting, but this just doesn't seem right. This just seems to be using children to express things I'd rather not see children connected to. Also there doesn't seem to be any political statement in that picture, and if there is, it's hidden from me.
I for my part do not believe this is how a painting should be like, I can live with the blood, but that painting is off limits.

my 2 cents

[bhuddistmonk]

That is one SERIOUSLY disturbed individual. While his work is good, i think he may do better with some therapy, little kids and babies with blood being poured on them/stabbed is a little F'D UP.

[KaizerKa]

Seems like he has a bit of a Dali-esque thing going, with particular focus on certain objects (Lincoln for example). There's probably a lot more going on there than is apparent, I doubt that it was meant to be taken literally. If it was, that's another matter.

Edit: You can also see a few of his trains of thought stretching over several paintings. Once such example that's interesting (and probably coincidental) was "Little Boy Blue" being followed by "YHWH." Alltogether interesting imagery.


"Well, I have to admit I don’t really paint my paintings; a Magic Monkey does. He comes to my studio late at night, when it’s very quiet. Mysterious things happen late at night when most people are asleep. I help the magic monkey, but he does most of the work. My big job is to get him to show up. I’ve been learning just what that takes. He is very particular. The right frame of mind is important; I have to switch my brain from linear, logical thinking to creative, free feeling. If I start to think too much, then it’s time for a nap or perhaps build a fort out of blankets with my son. Things have to flow from a place that is more subconscious and uninhibited. When you believe and have faith things will flow. You can really feel it. It’s like magic. The Monkey comes tapping at the door, we get the paint and brushes out of the treasure chest and we have a great time making art.

When I was a child in school my teachers would wonder why my drawings of dogs would have their intestines showing or why my self portraits had a third eye. They disapproved, but I got a lot of support from my family and I learned to really enjoy confusing my teachers and even scaring them. Children have no inhibitions when making their art. I’ve never seen my 4 year old son have a creative block; and his art is much more interesting than most adult’s art. Children are miraculous.

I believe to get ideas you have to nourish the spirit. I stuff myself full of the things I like: pictures of bugs, paintings by Bouguereau and David, books about Pheneous T. Barnum, films by Ray Harryhausen, old photographs of strange people, children’s books about space and science, medical illustrations, music by Frank Sinatra and Debussy, magazines, T.V., Jung and Freud, Ren and Stimpy, Joseph Campbell and Nostradamus, Ken and Barbie, Alchemy, Freemasonary, Buddhism. At night my head is so full of ideas I can’t sleep. I mix it all together and create my own doctrine of life and the universe. To me, certain things seem to fit together. There are certain parallels and clues all over the place. There may be a little part of Alice in Wonderland that fits in. Charles Darwin, and Colonel Sanders provide pieces. To me the world is full of awe and wonder. This is what I put in my paintings.

It seems to me that everything I am going to paint I have already painted. Something will “click” and an entire image will flash in my head. I then just have to remember what all the specific details of the image are supposed to be. I will often get stuck on a minor detail like the pattern on a curtain or the species of a background animal. It is very clear when I have the correct answer and resolve all the pieces of a work successfully. I just come as close as possible to what is supposed to be there.

I believe if you follow your heart and do what you love, success will follow. If you enchant yourself, others will be too."

-Mark Ryden - October, 1998

[Beecher]

that dude was good at what he does, but i prefer Joe Sorren for that genre.
www.joesorren.com

[McNallyism]

Actually, I think you have it the other way around, if you painted stuff like this, chances are you would be more prone to stabbing your mother....

[davi]

Personally i think all the comments against his work is alittle bit ignorant... if you think about fine art back 200 years ago what was risque and vulgar back then is completely fine today. None of the artists who choice to paint nude women were psycho perverts. And none of the artists who express themselves graphicly(sp?) and 'risque' in this age are crazy perverts either. Actually the ones that you hear of are generally very intelligent, since there is so much negative reflection on their work that they have to be intelligent or will be stepped on.

And i find it funny how this cannot be accepted by if I said GIGER RULES, I'm sure most all of the people here would recognize his talent and genius.

[lBeans]

yeah whats up with all the little children..........








:evilbat:

[WildSpruceMoose]

Its his style and interests. Not my cuppa tea, but it has merit. Certainly the actual painting skill can be appreciated by everyone. Regardless of what his subjects are. Besides who says he paints people with those proportions because he has lust for children?

[Joeslucher]

He's an amazing painter, I mean check out the size of the Blood paintings. They're tiny and I believe he painted them inside the frames. That's speculation because on in person I saw a couple of dabs of paint on the inside of the frame of "Cloven Bunny" that were the same color as the adjacent area of the painting. He does an incredibly job of creating narrative by creating these bizarre combinations of images. His biography picture kills me. I guess that's the Magic Monkey next to him.

[cybercyst]

I really like this guy's work. Cute and soft, yet spooky at the same time. The blood is awesome. I love putting blood in my paintings. For some reason every painting I have done has blood-red spatters or oozy drips on them, just like him. I think I was a great warrior in my past life; at least I like to think that. Anyway, thanks for the website man.:)

[Redder]

I've seen Mark Ryden paint before when he was at ArtCenter. He is a nice guy and a good father. To say he is a disturbed or gross individual is wrong.

[el coro]

i have been a fan of marks work for years now. he's an amazing artist with a unique vision.its dark and kinda unsettleing, but there are plenty of artists who use that as a tool. helnwein and nerdrum are two that come to mind immediately. i know marks brother, krk ryden, and he seems like a nice well adjusted guy. i would figure marks along those same lines. i just wish i could paint like him....-c36

[Hanuka]

I got to know Mark Ryden's work via John Piampiano and I really appreciate his works. surely controversial but in matters of technique and creativity awesome. "little boy blue" is one of the most impressing works, i think.

but i can understand people not liking this stuff as well ;)

[ksherman]

:firedevil :evilbat: :bash: :beer: :chug: :eek: :mad: :rolleyes: :cool: :p :confused: :) :( :o :D ;) :chainsaw: just being dumb