The Fine Art of This Art
This is an experimental blog. Part 1 of a multi-part blog, this story will bounce between two authors’ blogs.
I’ll preface by reiterating that things are really happening on the book. A lot of wonderful things have occurred in the past three weeks, and my energy level is back near its original high.
With things looking up, I want to introduce everyone to an element of the book that has me giddy with excitement. It all started back on July 17, 2006, when Chris Johnson (Chris DVM on the Mego Museum message boards) posted a link to an unusual auction.
The item at auction was a peculiar, realist painting of a Mego Batman head. While some folks expressed bafflement at the decapitated rubber representation, I was mesmerized. Upon clicking the link and viewing the auction pictures, I released an involuntary, guttural “Uhhhh,” as if I’d been punched in the stomach.
It wasn’t just that the painting is exceptional, which it is. It was the artist’s choice of subject matter. In the 14th century, Renaissance painters regularly depicted scenes of religious import. The Pieta, for example, was vital imagery that meant everything to everyday people as well as aficionados of fine art. The subject outweighed technique, as a variety of artists and schools of art created magnificent works; the common theme being religion.
But here was a modern artist, painting in a classical style. And the chosen subject was Mego.
The image is “painterly” yet realistic. The bold brushstrokes, evident only on close inspection, blend seamlessly when viewed from a normal distance. The mold’s topography is revealed in the detail of Batman’s left eye, and the artist presents the object for exactly what it is… even the flawed paint mask is evident.
It dawned on me immediately that this artist had accomplished (in a single painting), all that I have endeavored to accomplish with the book. This painting depicts a ratty old Mego head as a veritable “objet d’art,” transcendent of toys, of nostalgia, and of childhood itself.
Working in oils, the artist took this random object and placed it in an entirely different context. To me, Mego has always represented much more than a toy. It represents home… heritage…. childhood… comfort and safety. I’ve been photographing images for this book for almost three years now. I am in a never-ending quest to capture what these toys mean to me. Yet in one single, seemingly effortless image, the artist validated my belief and adoration.
The artist is Otto Lange.
I was determined to win this auction at all cost. Uncontested, I won the auction for its starting bid ($100). Several Mego heads contacted me, after the auction’s close, to say they had seen my name as high bidder and stepped aside. To each of you, I express my gratitude for not “bidding me up.” There was no way in Hell I was going to lose this auction.
In making payment, I reached out to Otto, testing his level of interest in participating in the book.
Visit Otto’s Blog for Part II, written from Otto’s perspective. If it’s not up yet, it will be shortly. After I read his blog, I’ll post another Blog. The goal is to tell the ongoing story of this exhilerating development.
Benjamin