Floating Viscos-City. Acrylic on Canvas (34" x 52 1/2"), 2012.
Should artwork reflect influences? In this case, it does.
I always think that my art is so literal and that even a hint of a representational element is easily readable. Not so.
OK...I have paintings depicting a tree, a television set, a building (usually mixed in with more absctracted elements), but they are what they are. Other times, I have depicted a shape that is meant to strongly suggest something, and it has gone completely unnoticed (unless I point it out) or misinterpreted/seen as something other (not necessarily a bad thing).
This painting, Floating Viscos-City, is influenced by sci-fi, comic books, architecture, early television, NYC and imagined utopian futures. The title, a play on words, is a reference to the thickness (viscosity) of paints, and to the idea of a floating city. Regarding the imagery of the painting itself, there are hints of pedestrian activity, although many are scientific and information research teams, that are somewhat oblivious to the outside (floating) world. It's a future in which mild decay and traditionalist structures are revered and allowed to co-exist with biomorphic glob structures (that are probably habitable).
If you know your modern art and your comic book geniuses, then you should be able to pick out the stylistic influences. If not, then know that even the obvious influences were filtered through me and my sensibilities (a mash-up as it were).
And yes, the left side of the painting is supposed to be a techno-inspired version of Ollie aka Oliver J. Dragon (look it up). But only if you want it to be. Otherwise, it's just a space pod-like craft hovering next to a floating city.
Detail of Floating Viscos-City.
