Your Saturday Dose of Art

You know, I often regard the notion that "it's all been done before" as being fairly accurate, especially concerning art. Nothing is new, just old, recycled, tired ideas. And while, for the most part I do believe this, sometimes an artist comes along and does something that makes me think, "Wow! I don't think that's ever been done before." And it could be the simplest thing, but it gives me hope. My cynicism is silenced, if even for just a moment, and it makes me happy.

I follow Juxtapoz Magazine pretty religiously because they are most likely to give me that warm and fuzzy feeling that it is possible to do something truly original. And while I have known and loved Wim Delvoye for a long time, they posted an article about some of his newest work today and I am in awe all over again.

Wim Delvoye is a conceptual artist from Belgium and he has an expansive portfolio that includes photography, mixed media, sculpture, and all kinds of other craziness that I don't even know how to classify (how exactly does one categorize tattooed pig skins or vacuum-sealed, mechanically-created poo?). You should check out his interactive website which is sort of a sim city that revolves exclusively around the artist and his work. It's pretty rad.

Delvoye's series of "SexRays" are my absolute favorite. A little graphic? Potentially inappropriate? Sexually explicit? Yes, yes, and yes! If those three things don't sound like your cup of tea, you may want to avert your tender eyes:

They are fascinating, no? I'm so glad that an artist out there is willing to increase someone's exposure to radiation for the sake of art! 

The series that Juxtapoz wrote about is called "Pneu," which is French for "tire." And guess what?! They are, indeed, tires. Beautiful, intricately carved tires:

I don't know about you, but I know that I've never seen anyone carve a tire before. So unique and yet so simple (conceptually, not execution wise, obviously). Don't it just make ya feel good?