A Preview of Southern Pop Surrealism: Conjuring Heaven and Hell

As promised from yesterday's post, here's the second portion of our group painting session from last month for Southern Pop Surrealism, opening in 10 days at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in New Orleans.  After the freestyle session early on, we moved straight into the religious material...

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."  -Mark Twain

HEAVEN

After taking turns laying down some base colors for a background, we decided one looked like Hell and one a Psychedelic Heaven.... we'd each do our own Angel and Devil!

Charles painting his praying Angel after I was the first to go to Heaven

Jeff Bertrand added the ultimate Angel, Christ- making it rain!

Eyes on the Prize with Dustin Dirt!

Charles getting his line-work in

HELL

"The Voice of the Devil"
(Plate 4 from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell)

All Bibles or sacred codes, have been the causes of the following Errors:
1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body & a Soul.
2. That Energy, call'd Evil, is alone from the Body, & that Reason, call'd Good, is alone from the Soul.
3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.

But the following Contraries to these are True:
1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that call'd Body is a portion of Soul discern'd by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age.
2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
3. Energy is Eternal Delight

Dustin Dirt! working opposite of Bertrand's three-legged Devil

Believe it or not, they requested my Devil have tits.

Charlie getting grabby

No better way to fill the negative space than a variety of 6's

Jeff finishing touching up as we dirty things up

FIN

These painting will be exhibited at Southern Pop Surrealism: Artwork by Charles Bennett, Jeff Bertrand, Dustin Dirt! and Brandt Hardin. Drop in on us if you're in The Big Easy to see these paintings along with dozens more from all four artists!

- Opening reception will be held Saturday, July 16th from 6-9PM -

Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center

1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd

New Orleans, LA 70113

(504) 827-5858

 

All four exhibiting artists will be on hand for LIVE Painting, LIVE Body Painting, LIVE Short Films and even a Surreal Costume Contest- just dress up and you can WIN ART!

- Click HERE for the Facebook Events Page and RSVP -

[Click HERE for the Southern Pop Surrealism STREAM]

THEOLOGICAL THERMODYNAMICS
(Mathematical proof that Heaven is Hotter than Hell)

Southern Pop Surrealism PRESS RELEASE

"Monkey Worship" inks on bristol / 2011

 I whipped up our PRESS RELEASE this evening for our trip to The Big Easy next month and thought it was worth while to share what I wrote...

Southern Pop Surrealism

The Artwork of Charles Bennett, Jeff Bertrand, Dustin Dirt! and Brandt Hardin

NASHVILLE INVADES NOLA!

The original Surrealism movement of the 1920’s was the most visionary and revolutionary change to ever occur in the mainstream arts world.  With the invention of the camera, art had slowly degenerated and transitioned from its need for realism over the previous thirty years.  Most Popular Art didn’t require as much technical skill, but rather an expression of movement and composition.  Surrealism required realistic imagery to be twisted and morphed into a dreamlike, hallucinogenic state… this loosening of reality inspired everything from film to animation to even written works with surrealist poetry.  A few decades further in time, Pop Art emerged in the 1960’s, using imagery in popular culture from mediums such as comics and television.  Flash forward to today, in which the fusion and evolution of popular arts has brought forth a new doctrine with Pop Surrealism.  Middle Tennessee artists Charles Bennett, Jeff Bertrand, Dustin Dirt! and Brandt Hardin prescribe to this movement and bring their twisted take on reality to the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in July!

Saturday, July 16^th from 6-9PM, the exhibiting artists will be on hand for the opening reception of Southern Pop Surrealism.  This event will be curated by Myron Warden and Rene Broussard (founder and Executive Director of Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center.)  Admission to the show is $7 ($5 for members) and includes live painting, live poetry, live music and body painting along with a special screening of surrealist short films.  Create your own piece of surrealism and enter the Costume Contest to win artwork from the exhibiting artists!

Contact information, yadda yadda ya... and boom- artist samples (including mine from above!)

Dustin Dirt!

Charles Bennett

Jeff Bertrand

Nashville Invades NOLA July 16th!

A first look at the poster I designed today!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting some previews of Southern Pop Surrealism, a group exhibit featuring myself, Jeff Bertrand, Charles Bennett, and Dustin Dirt!  The opening reception Saturday night, July 16th from 6-9PM will be truly surreal with live performances, live painting, body painting and short film screenings!  The architect of this event is a dear friend of mine- Mr. Myron Warden along with Rene Broussard (Executive Director of our venue, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in it's 25th year in New Orleans,) who will be hosting a slew of our twisted works for the month!

To kick things off- here's the poster design I finished tonight for the venue, which is a movie theater featuring independent film from all over the world and spanning the history of cinema.  In addition to movies, Rene also gives audience to performance and visual arts year round and we are fortunate to fill his space with our own blend of eye candy in just a few weeks! 


Stay tuned the next few weeks for more tasty previews of Southern Pop Surrealism including a video showing the creation of the two group paintings used in the poster above!