Althouse: "I thought this painting was finished in 2014... It ended up as an abstract piece that took ages to complete due to the intricate, worm-like patterns that filled the canvas."

August 17, 2018

"I thought this painting was finished in 2014... It ended up as an abstract piece that took ages to complete due to the intricate, worm-like patterns that filled the canvas."

"I was not able to appreciate or bond with the piece at that time, it was a struggle to complete and I was not satisfied with the end result at all. I had no idea what compelled me to paint it, or what it was trying to say, and it was shelved in my studio, where it rested in this unsatisfactory state for many months. Little did I realise that all would be revealed soon enough, and that this painting was being influenced by other beings.... In the summer of 2013, I went to stay in a traditional Bwiti village in the jungles of Gabon, ... Despite this seemingly bad news, I now understand the blessing of being infected with Loa Loa.... Now that I look back, I realise how strange and interesting it was to have my artwork subconsciously guided by a bunch of creative worms. It has made me wonder who the artist is, really?"

Writes Ben Taylor. Images of paintings at the link.

10 comments:

Yancey Ward said...: I don't often like abstract paintings, but this one I like a lot.; 8/17/18, 10:49 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: "I thought this painting was finished in 2014..."

I don't know about "being infected with Loa Loa" but I've mentioned how the guitar on "A Message To Kanye" took me years to find. I'd had the groove since, like, 2004, but what went with it stayed a mystery until I heard that sound and said "A-Ha!" and had to have it. I'd tried others, but it always felt like I was forcing a round peg in a square hole. That guitar just belonged there.

Art, and creation, are interesting (and frustrating) that way.; 8/17/18, 10:50 AM
rhhardin said...: Little did I realise that all would be revealed soon enoughK

"Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act. would lead to his imminent death."
- What?
- "Little did he know that this -"
- Did you say, "little did he know"?
- Yes.
I've written papers on "little did he know." I used to teach a class based on "little did he know." I mean, I once gave an entire seminar on "little did he know." Son of a bitch, Harold. "Little did he know" means there's something he doesn't know - that means there's something you don't know. Did you know that? I want you to come back Friday.

- Stranger than Fiction (2006); 8/17/18, 11:01 AM
Nonapod said...: Re-looking into the mirror, I could see something wriggling just under the surface of my eyeball. “OK, time for the hospital” I reasoned.

All the "alternative medicine" in the world can't save you from reality. If this guy went to the hospital right away instead of trying all sorts of nonsense he may have saved himself a lot of misery.

But then we wouldn't have this darkly exotic piece of art I guess.; 8/17/18, 11:07 AM
Henry said...: I wish it were abstract. With the worms, but without the eyelashes, and eyelash reflections and all that.; 8/17/18, 11:14 AM
Etienne said...: I'm not woke because I have 0% African in me.

However my ancestors did plant their flag in African soil, if that counts.; 8/17/18, 11:22 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: It has made me wonder who the artist is, really?

He better watch out where he says that. He might lose the copyright to his ( or their ) work.; 8/17/18, 12:35 PM
mtrobertslaw said...: From a future art exhibit featuring "Art of the Second Dark Ages":

The Art of Ben Taylor, The Host: An Excellent Example of Artistic Creativity during the Transition Stage to the Second Dark Ages.; 8/17/18, 1:43 PM
Roger Sweeny said...: I'll bet he doesn't "fucking love science."; 8/17/18, 2:33 PM
gerry said...: I painted a bathroom in my second apartment. It took two days. I bonded with it almost immediately. That bathroom and I became one.; 8/17/18, 3:17 PM