Pixelation

General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Conzeit on June 06, 2016, 05:19:29 am

Title: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Conzeit on June 06, 2016, 05:19:29 am
Zdizislaw Bensinski truly makes me feel like this is a whole realm that is yet undiscovered, or maybe a vision of our world from where all our vices are self evident.
(http://i.imgur.com/OuZ7Qqm.jpg)
His art feels like concept art, we have these creatures who clearly have minds and purposes of their own, but in a way I am thankful he never did conceptart, I feel like barlowe or moebius are tainted when their minds are devoted to simple adventure stories or shooting galleries. The world of Zdzislaw is far more unknowable this way, I think his pieces are like poetry, an idea that he felt and is deeply personal to him, but the way everything is linked and it's precise meaning is up to you.

(http://i.imgur.com/4GAFTYK.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/dcro0eW.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/679qUIe.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/DkBYGUC.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/DXLB5XY.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/s1Nakkv.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/4ezhpXh.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/QYIiK6e.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ebFuxRL.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/VLhT1Af.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/OSrNw0b.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/mWs9jjh.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/PIXQZ1Z.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/EED85qT.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/1bjsdGT.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/7NnWbhY.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/yxpKAQx.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/doPTCNB.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/AL74NI5.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/YKrlasQ.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WitFscv.jpg)

Thanks to mathias we have an artbook scan
(http://i.imgur.com/DrXSuJo.jpg)
and the most iconic image of his I can think of.
(http://i.imgur.com/US57XkG.jpg)
I LOVE these root looking hands, they perfectly encapsulate the feeling of being nerveous of fucking something up real bad...I once sketched something like this the day before I had to record a documentary and I knew we didnt have enough info to make it what I wanted to be...I made the shittiest sketch with the same idea, but this is like the perfect rendition. He uses it on a lot of his pieces to communicate tension and doubt. that's how I read it atleast.

I was talking about him with Mathias some day and we thought a master study thread would be nice.

In terms of his artistic merits, he has a similar texture to that of H.R.Giger the conceptartist for Alien, but he uses it for many more enviroments and moods, he often has skin meld gradually turn into roots, fabric, or mist, it peals away easily and the same texture can be on an ancient monument or on a living being.

He was supposed to be a nice, shy person and I would think so. I think he really liked redheads, they're everywhere and the only beautiful woman I've seen from him was a redhead. I read a quote about his work once, when people said it was all bleak and grimy, and he responded that yes his world is harsh but when love does happen, it's all the more grand because of how sparse it is, it seems like it would take millenia for an expression of affection happen.

(https://i.imgur.com/Z9kZNFF.jpg)
This image kind of encapsulates that =)

I have a collection of 650 these I've been working on for a while now and I've got terms for the things he does...I call that biological root thing he does knorg or knorganic... heh :p, but imgur is only allowing me to upload 150 at a time...I have 650....I could post em in batches....or post the dropbox gallery, but I think they look awful on that white background =/ oh well, been delaying posting this topic so long I think I'll give you these for now and if discussion picks up I post some more
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: MysteryMeat on June 06, 2016, 05:25:16 am
This is a good thread. Post more, and let's try to get some dissection on this both mechanically and conceptually so filthy plebians like myself can suck up all that good shit through our greasy artist pores and be better for it
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Mathias on June 07, 2016, 09:34:26 am
(http://i.imgur.com/R5KbUyM.png)

The Polish surrealist. Stabbed to death in 2005.

He painted visions that randomly came to him, yet his pieces have so much continuity it's as if they're all connected.

His body of work is as massive as was his dedication to his craft. He was a fascinating artist.





He once wrote down a variety of statements about himself and his work, for inclusion in an art book I happen to have.
Below I've chosen 8 of these quotes that I think help us understand him a little better.

The paired images don't necessarily correlate with the quote but the image and quote are adjacent to each other in the book.

(http://i.imgur.com/vvxTQFI.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/uTaKBZ9.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/8IHSEe1.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/cA4r5c7.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/QHZk3QK.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/yAPJcs5.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/v2vfoK6.png)


(http://i.imgur.com/9tXCCGe.png)


Zdzisław Beksiński
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: MAVW on June 07, 2016, 09:34:02 pm
Wow, thanks for this thread.

I haven't seen much of his work but this one is definitely my favorite. From a technical point of view I thought it was strange for the person to be holding a torch in a place that is really not that dark, bright even. After looking it a few more times I realized that this might be because of how towering those figures are, we can see that this is an open place but from his point of view he's probably engulfed by the shadows of those giants with judgmental expressions. As Conzeit said, they really show some kind of intention, even those figures that look look "big statues" at first glance.

(https://i.imgur.com/6UoqK6n.jpg)
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Conzeit on June 07, 2016, 09:46:03 pm
thank you Mati =D that was all very interesting, hadnt read any of it but it fits with my preconcieved  image of him.

he says it's not meant to be horrorific or cruel, but instead a spiritual portrait of himself.
(https://i.imgur.com/YhchygO.jpg)
when I look at his work, specially pieces like this it seems to be painted more form a perspective of empathy with the subject's ordeals, this one to me seems to suggest parents have to go trough many hardships silently and he's making them visible trough analogy.

Now, for dissecting his technique, I feel at quite the disadvantage to try and do that. This is an atmosphere that is also inherent to my more depressive imagination but I never got even close to depicting it the way he did
(http://pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/visceral5.gif) this would be an example of an attempt at this

(https://craftmused.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/spectrsmudg2.png) I was trying to express something about someone I know with this one but I didnt really get there..and I hate how lacking the mood is on this one.

(https://craftmused.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/1601jan01ancntwarrshdw.png) this is actually a stain I saw on my shower while bathing. I kind of captured the overall shape and details but it still doesnt communicate the feeling it gave me.

(https://craftmused.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/15-11nov28-standstorm-tombs.png) this is my most succesful, if not very detailed one. I did not set out to do beksinski,I was just scribbling whatever and this came out, as I said my imagination can go that way.

Hm, the more I think about it the more beksinski-ish pieces of mine I can recall :p but that's enough for now.

My point is I feel I'm fairly far from being able to examine it, Mathias on the other hand has succesful recreations of Giger's signature erotomachina textures so I think he might be of some more help :p

I'm leaving here an interview about his technique


MAVW: Yep, that's a cool one. Remember this is all mostly symbolic, You are probably right that maybe without the torch he couldnt see ahead where he's walking, but I think the point of the torch is more symbolic, naybe it is all actually dark but Zdzislaw makes the reapers visible to show us how screwed the little guy is, maybe the torch represents righteousness and is there to keep the towering reapers from crushing the little figure's mind just with their presence.
That one often gets paired with a quote from the bible "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." now, Beksinski never ever made the connection, hell he never explains anything I've only seen one piece that was titled, but the association here makes sense and illustrates the intent pretty well.

EDIT: Also, dont trust the colors on the stuff you see online! his stuff is often scanned with the wrong colors, so much so that you might find 4 different colorations for the same piece and it'll be hard to tell which is the real one. as far as I can tell, these are the right ones for that reaper valley as I call it
(https://craftmused.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/reapervalley-0.jpg)
I say that because this is an official scan from the online store. But there's also this slightly darker version
(https://craftmused.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/reapervalley-a.jpg)
I have a lot more of his pieces to post as you know, but I think I'll hold back on them and post them slowly, there is PLENTY to discuss even with these few choice pieces =D
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Yokai90 on June 07, 2016, 09:51:07 pm
If I may share more Art from Beksinski-

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/AA78_by_Zdzislaw_Beksinski_1978.jpg/800px-AA78_by_Zdzislaw_Beksinski_1978.jpg)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3f/0f/99/3f0f99465b690bfabfd3de3216303198.jpg)

(http://lazerhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zdzis%C5%82aw-Beksi%C5%84ski-mouth-army.jpg)

Honestly these may be well known, or at least the most shown up when you search his name?, but honestly I enjoy these out of them all.

Honestly my most favorite is the woman on horse you take a first glance and to me if looks like some fallen warrior, but then you notice the baby! and in the first it reminds me of fungi interests me because he made it sorta go together with the building and look a part of the building itself ;p

Also correct me if i'm wrong on this, but I believe that I heard that some of beksinski's art is based on a apocalyptic world after a war.
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Conzeit on June 07, 2016, 10:00:56 pm
Yep! I really enjoy that one with the blue sky inside the little edifice and the nightsky on the other side of the door. that one and this one
(http://i.imgur.com/VLhT1Af.jpg)
actually have a higher res version of yours from wiki
(https://imgur.com/yh1fPrF.jpg)

These two really show he can do beautiful beautiful things, and his world is not all bleak and grimy. I just want to step inside of that SO BAD. These two I wish were places I could walk into...but only if they werent connected to the other pieces, whatever is lurking on the others coming to that place to get me is a bit too scary.....:p
The woman on the horse is also one of my favorites...but I just have SO MANY fucking favorites. it was really hard to ONLY pick 30 XD

EDIT: BAH I remembered another piece of his that followed the same pattern of multiple realms within one space. just HAD to go look for it :p

(https://craftmused.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/mealpathportal-a1.jpg)

hm. I'll get a batch of 150 ready to upload

BTW thank you Yokai90 (interesting name...heh) and MAVW for your replies, replies keep me motivated to keep posting and talking, hope I'm not being overbearing by replying to everything you say :p
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Yokai90 on June 08, 2016, 04:39:12 am
Not at all! Im just actually excited that someone else knows about Bensinski  :) His paintings are so interesting to me!
Especially some of the body horror aspects to some of them.
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: MAVW on June 09, 2016, 07:56:55 pm
@conzeit: That is true, it is a work of surrealism after all, I may be analyzing this painting in a way that defies it's purpose. I've never seen this quote related to the "reaper valley", it's funny considering how this felt to me as the complete opposite, someone enclosed in darkness not realizing that an open bright sky is right above.

about scans (http://m.xkcd.com/1683/)  ::)

nah don't worry, this is a really good discussion thread!

I'm sure his work influenced a lot of people, I don't have any info to back it up but I feel like the writer behind "I have no mouth and I must scream" (Harlan Ellison) was one of those people. Not only because of the story itself but I feel like the visuals attached to this short story are a hint.

(http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ihavenomouth/book.jpg)

It is known that he was heavily involved with the development of the game as well

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/594766028458779481/0DB4CA7F68B2E2A9231B13BC059C10000B0FBECC/)
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Ai on June 10, 2016, 02:03:23 am
Quote from: Conzeit on June 07, 2016, 10:00:56 pm
(https://imgur.com/yh1fPrF.jpg)

These two really show he can do beautiful beautiful things, and his world is not all bleak and grimy. I just want to step inside of that SO BAD.
I agree that these are beautiful. They also horrify me though.. well, that huge level of detail is a big theme for him, and that always horrifies me (it says runaway obsessive thought processes, to me - isn't painting 100 of the same thing with the same level of detail in the one painting well past enough?. Which of course may partially reflect my own impatience)

His paintings do have a tremendous sense of scale, which is interesting when you think about the level of detail (far exceeding what you would realistically see). I think it's a kind of balance between the natural blurring out of the *global* value of things, and pushing the *local* value variation so you can see detail everywhere you bother to look. In that sense, he could be viewed as a master of custom dithering.
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Yokai90 on June 10, 2016, 02:23:20 am
Quote from: MAVW on June 09, 2016, 07:56:55 pm
@conzeit: That is true, it is a work of surrealism after all, I may be analyzing this painting in a way that defies it's purpose. I've never seen this quote related to the "reaper valley", it's funny considering how this felt to me as the complete opposite, someone enclosed in darkness not realizing that an open bright sky is right above.

about scans (http://m.xkcd.com/1683/)  ::)

nah don't worry, this is a really good discussion thread!

I'm sure his work influenced a lot of people, I don't have any info to back it up but I feel like the writer behind "I have no mouth and I must scream" (Harlan Ellison) was one of those people. Not only because of the story itself but I feel like the visuals attached to this short story are a hint.

(http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ihavenomouth/book.jpg)

It is known that he was heavily involved with the development of the game as well

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/594766028458779481/0DB4CA7F68B2E2A9231B13BC059C10000B0FBECC/)

Gosh i've seen the whole play through of that game and I must say that the game itself was pretty great. Reminds me of the old horror games I've seen and enjoyed. :y: :y: :y:
Title: Re: The haunting mindscape of Zdzislaw beksinski
Post by: Mnots on June 10, 2016, 10:03:52 am
Some of the most inspiring stuff I've seen in a very long time. Thanks for sharing!