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Description
MIXED-MEDIA OILGRAPH // TRADITIONAL PHOTO, ACRYLIC, OIL PAINT AND BLOOD ON WOODEN PANEL // 24x36

Base image photographed with a Mamiya 645 on Ilford 400 and developed in Agfa Rodinal
-No digital work-
8/9 of the series

This the reverse/corrupt/rotted version of GREED (The American Flag made of meat and bones). I just took it, dropped it on the ground, set it all on fire and turned it upside down. Of all the pieces for the series, this one was the hardest because all the elements basically all fell in the same tonal range and the script called for the opposite colors. I personally would have preferred keeping it closer to its original BW form, but thems the rules.

Things you wouldn't know if I didn't tell you:

-The cloth for the star field is my uncle's Marine jacket from Vietnam and is worn by actor Pej Vahdat in the FRAUD piece.

-There's roughly a dozen hidden images in the work

-The maggots are all made of rice

-The meat wasn't entirely rotten but dipped in diluted black acrylic paint

-I threw everything away (except for the jacket) immediately upon completion

Created for the movie Magnum Opus which is the story of an ex-marine turned artist and cryptographer. I was tasked with making his series.

BACKGROUND
___________

Six years ago I was asked to create a nine piece series for the film Magnum Opus.
The concept of the film sounded intriguing - An ex-marine and war photographer saw some terrible things go down in Afghanistan, retired to become an artist (and cryptologist) and paint a series of works where he would secretly encode the narrative into the paintings themselves. Kind of like pulling an Edward Snowden.
And I thought this was awesome.

In reading the script I was confused as to how the main character's art technique was exactly like mine and the director's response (who was a friend and collector of mine) said, "Well, we based the main character on you."

Description
MIXED-MEDIA OILGRAPH // TRADITIONAL PHOTO, ACRYLIC, OIL PAINT AND BLOOD ON WOODEN PANEL // 24x36

Base image photographed with a Mamiya 645 on Ilford 400 and developed in Agfa Rodinal
-No digital work-
8/9 of the series

This the reverse/corrupt/rotted version of GREED (The American Flag made of meat and bones). I just took it, dropped it on the ground, set it all on fire and turned it upside down. Of all the pieces for the series, this one was the hardest because all the elements basically all fell in the same tonal range and the script called for the opposite colors. I personally would have preferred keeping it closer to its original BW form, but thems the rules.

Things you wouldn't know if I didn't tell you:

-The cloth for the star field is my uncle's Marine jacket from Vietnam and is worn by actor Pej Vahdat in the FRAUD piece.

-There's roughly a dozen hidden images in the work

-The maggots are all made of rice

-The meat wasn't entirely rotten but dipped in diluted black acrylic paint

-I threw everything away (except for the jacket) immediately upon completion

Created for the movie Magnum Opus which is the story of an ex-marine turned artist and cryptographer. I was tasked with making his series.

BACKGROUND
___________

Six years ago I was asked to create a nine piece series for the film Magnum Opus.
The concept of the film sounded intriguing - An ex-marine and war photographer saw some terrible things go down in Afghanistan, retired to become an artist (and cryptologist) and paint a series of works where he would secretly encode the narrative into the paintings themselves. Kind of like pulling an Edward Snowden.
And I thought this was awesome.

In reading the script I was confused as to how the main character's art technique was exactly like mine and the director's response (who was a friend and collector of mine) said, "Well, we based the main character on you."