Original turn-of-the-century wall & ceiling from old vaudeville theatre in Racine, Wisconsin.
Reflections, both visual and philosophical, make their appearences in peculiar locations, before odd backdrops, and with Fortean uncanniness. Zeitgeists of by-gone eras are channelled in my work, as if through a seance. Statues speak, movie palaces flicker, vaudeville audiences echo in my ears, and memories come alive again. Antiquated buildings around me represent my unusual relationship with time (after all, I am the Mad Hattress!). Dissheveled hair, which has a personality all its own, decides for itself whether it wants cutting...or not. Round windsor frames evoke the whimsical spirit of Groucho Marx, as well as the classic era of those who wore them (c 1880 - 1930s).
"I think you might do something better with the time than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers," said Alice.
"If you knew Time as well as I do, you wouldn't talk about wasting it. It's him," said the
Mad Hatter. "I dare say you never even spoke to Time! If you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do anything you liked with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o'clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half-past one, time for dinner!"
~"Alice in Wonderland," Lewis Carroll, 1865
That was, of course, before the Mad Hatter had a falling-out with Time. Which is another story the Mad Hatter discusses during the Tea Party.
Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in Mirror), named after
the exquisite corpse book by Michael Ende
illustrated by his surrealist father, Edgar Ende. M. Ende wrote
"Never-ending Story," and "Momo." You can read my
review of "Momo"(both the book & the film) in my blog.
Original floor tiles inside Portage Theater in Chicago, IL. Built in
1920, it is now in threat of being bought & converted to a church.
Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" premiered here in 1940. The film
was considered too controversial for wide release. The Music Box
was the only other Chicago theater to premiere it.
Johnny Depp came here to film the scene of Dillinger at the flickers
for "Public Enemies," in 2009.
Reflections
Reflections
Reflections in drag
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Strange Interlude: SURREALIST NEWS: HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM (my band) is GOINGVIRAL w/ Chaplin dance. New album out soon. New videos, incl How to Remember Dreams (surrealist tips) & songs soon on YOUTUBE. Johnny Depp inspired Character Morphing w/ every song! Here is us doing CHAPLIN DANCE to backdrop of George Melies 1902 film Trip to the Moon (as seen in Hugo film). "Like" us on FACEBOOK
Lewis Carroll, Dr Who, Dream, & Fortean inpired tunes. Multi-lingual tunes (English, German, French, Lithuanian, Russian). Silent film inspired dances. Johnny Depp inspired Character Morphing. Trock. Lietuvaite soka kaip Chaplin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Curl of Light
Day of research at the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University
Research at Indiana University, Kinsey Institute
I wish you were there to hear what this statue had to say!
Reflections
More jellyfish than in SpongeBob's closet!
Which way is up?
Pretty colours over Montreal
95 floors over Chicago and a frozen Lake Michigan (Hancock Center)
Louise Brooks (1908 - 1985), famous flapper actress
Two girls on a skateboard
103 floors over Chicago (Sear's Tower)
Gardens near Art Institute, Chicago
Art Institute, Chicago
University of Chicago campus
University of Chicago campus
Spiral objet d'art reflection, NYC
Chicken pot pie, yum!
A somber moment in front of Liberty Studios, NYC
I used to work at Liberty Studios, NYC. I was saddened to see a "for sale" sign in front.
24th St, NYC
23rd St station, NYC
Random wandering, NYC
Odd objet d'art in window, NYC
23rd St station, middle tracks for express trains, NYC
Relection from random wandering, NYC
Silhouette looking out over Paris courtyard, 16th arrondissement
Mirrow on ceiling, 2008 (this was way before I knew of Claude Cahun's photograph). Cahun (1894 -1954) pioneered surrealist self-portraits. Her photo was taken in 1915. I find these two photographs to be quite uncanny.
"If Walls Could Talk" Old vaudeville theatre in Racine, Wisconson
Portage Theater, Chicago. Save the Portage theater from being converted
to a church. http://www.portagetheater.org/ I witnessed too many movie
palaces close or turn into churches on Flatbush Ave
in Brooklyn. I want to see this one saved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STRANGE INTERLUDE: My Dream, Time-Travel inspired band, "Hypnagogic Telegram" is going VIRAL on Youtube. Timelord Rock.Trock. I play a timeghost (zeitgeist) that inhabits the wardrobe closet in the TARDIS. I come out in costumes from various eras to dance & sing. If Doctor Who would have a band, it might sound like this.
<---- View YOUTUBE VIDEO here.
On FACEBOOK @ HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM
Check out my Time Travel, Dream, surreal artwork, performance art, costuming & photography on the other blog pages!
Elegant Surrealism inspired by Illuminated Manuscripts, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Calligraphy, Fashion Design, and Medieval Art. Lithuanian Surreal artist. Labas!
"Pandora's Stage" Pen & ink, mixed media, 2022
Inspired by a dream in which I walked through doorways draped in velvet curtains. A few of the characters are inspired by the animated Disney "Alice in Wonderland" from 1951, in which classic vaudeville & Ziegfeld Follies comedian, Ed Wynn, starred as the Mad Hatter. He also played Uncle Albert in "Mary Poppins," starred 2x in" Twilight Zone", and was offered the title role in "The Wizard of Oz"...he turned it down).
Inspired by twisted logic within "Alice in Wonderland"
~~What do you think happens to an egg after it eats itself? Please give me your interpretation in the comments section.
"Sappho's Fragments" Calligraphic, gel, and metallic 3-D pens; collage on parchment paper
The calligraphy is in ancient Greek with English translations. This is inspired by the book "If Not, Winter: Sappho's Fragments."
She was one of the first lyric poets of antiquity. Sappho lived in ancient Greece c 630 - 570 BCE.
"The Seance" Fountain pen, fine pint pen, 1993
Inspired by 1920s flappers and the interest in seances to summon Houdini's spirit after his death in 1926. Houdini and his wife, Bess, had an agreement that the first to die would contact the survivor via code. After many unsuccessful seances, Bess held the "Final Houdini Seance" in the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood, CA in 1936. It was recorded onto vinyl with her sadly concluding "I now, reverently, turn out the light."
One of my favs, Tony Curtis, played the title role in "Houdini" 1953.
Hear the final seance here...
I created my medieval illuminated dream manuscriptwhich is Inspired by Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts which pre-dated Guttenberg's printed Bibles, this work is meditative in its undertaking. Early pages utilized a lovely fountain pen, then moved on to calligraphic & quill pens. That, in turn, inspired me to experiment with a wide spectrum of calligraphic styles. I decided to use Gothic Blackletter calligraphy (12th c. forward) throughout much of the book.
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Strange Interlude: CHICAGO SURREALIST NEWS: HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM (my band) is GOING VIRAL w/ Chaplin dance. More music & tips on how to remember dreams (for creativity & life) to be posted soon. Here is us doing CHAPLIN DANCE to backdrop of George Melies 1902 film Trip to the Moon (as seen in Hugo film)
Lewis Carroll, Dr Who, Dream, & Fortean inpired tunes. Multi-lingual. Silent film inspired Dances. Trock.Timelord Rock. Johnny Depp inspired Character Morphing. Lietuvaite soka kaip Chaplin.
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"Hand of a Mannerist," acrylic paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, markers, 2008
~~Inspired by my love of Mannerism, an obscure short-lived twisted art-form from the Italian High-Renaissance (1520 -1580). Exaggerated human figures were part of the Mannerist style. It was eventually suppressed by the Catholic Church as a form a heresy.
"L'esprit d'escalier" aka "Logic of the Stairs" Wood, wire and markers, 2008 ~~Inspired by the term, l'esprit d'escalier" which refers to the instant you think of the right comeback, yet it's too late (as you're on the stairs leaving). Eye inspired by staircase in the Gustave Moreau Museum in Paris. http://www.whattoseeinparis.com/gustave-moreau-museum/
