 Steve
Danzig ~ "The practice, theoretical development and production of artistic works that embody principles of an 'ecosophy' are best thought of as being part of a broader process of making sense of the world, and hence a way of determining engagement with it. The mix of Anthropomorphism and Ecosophy allows an exploration of this common thread of man versus nature via social, cultural and environmental metamorphosis to the early origins of life. The approach is deeply entwined within human concepts of individualism, difference, gender and morality; in other words all of what it means to be a human" © Steve Danzig 2003 About the works: Anthrop-Ecosophy (first set below): "...this is brilliant, the strength of this work is stupendous, it represents clarity!" - Laurence Gartel (digital media pioneer) 2003. Dark Eros (second set below) documents Sadeian behavior constructs. From Jungian archetypical psychology to social matrixes relating to religion, sexuality and socio-political metaphor. An interest in early religious European art depicting sexual iconography within the perverse and polysexual fetishist framework is deeply imbedded in this series. The work questions moral obligation and suggests that, "sexuality is the raw material of one of the most potent mythologies today. Individual and sexual fantasies depict in a symbolic way the human psyche. Ancient mythology of Gods, etc., have somehow lost their significance as symbolical representations of the human psyche" (Adolf Guggenbuhl-Craig/Moore). The work by nature is also reminiscent of early European cinematography or Operatic stage design.
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Biography: Steve Danzig is an Australian artist working in digital media. He is the founder and Executive Director for the International Digital Art Awards (IDAA); 2004 Garnts Assessor National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA); Founder Australian Digital Art Association, Board Member Digital Academy University of North Carolina Pembroke, Member Academy for Electronic Arts-New Delhi, India; Juror, Museum of Computer Art-NYC, USA, Juror International Symbolist Exhibition USA and Member for the International Association For Computer Graphics, Russia,. Steve lectures and exhibits internationally. His art is featured in both hard copy publication and on many leading international CG web-galleries. More than 32,000 references to his work can be found on the Internet. His IDA website supports more than 75,000 members - attracting more than 9 million people each year. Steve works collaboratively with many prominent artists, including Laurence Gartel, US artist/photographer and early digital art pioneer. Projects include a series of digital movies and music videos as well as preparing a Gartel retrospective and emerging artist's exhibition.
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Gartel forward on Danzig: "STEVE DANZIG: LIFE AND DEATH" - Dark Eros by Laurence M. Gartel, Digital Media Pioneer <gartel@gate.net> February 29, 2003 [International Digital Art] When was the last time you saw some art that "spoke" to you? When was the last time you saw artwork, that when you left it, .it lingered on in your mind? When did you last see a painting that just haunted you? To talk about art these days one cannot help but think in terms of what's going on in the world. To just "discuss" art without its context to current events is like living in a bubble. America was just that way, till September 11th when they got a dose of reality that "no man is an island" and that evil and terror reside some several thousand miles away. It hit home. I make reference to all this because the art that is produced today by any artist worth his/her salt, has to have reference to "good vs. evil." It is no wonder that Hollywood is doing so well these days making movies with characters that over come diversity with super human powers. The scriptwriters have the luxury of making their cast members rise above and prevail in the end. Let's hope this is the case, but that is just the movies and not real life. - It is indeed fantasy land, and fiction. What is not prefabricated, is emotion and art. Who best to describe the pain and anguish of life but the artist living in those troubled times? Those that could pick up a pencil or write with their finger in the sand have described war. The one thing that any human being cannot be stripped of is his desire to communicate. Artists are storytellers of the soul. They have a way of letting us know what is going on inside ourselves, which no man can speak of. Artist Steve Danzig is a man of his time. He has taken the responsibility of putting our feelings on paper. Life in times of uncertainty is surrealism. Life is unknown; life is confusing and perhaps even fleeting. "Here today, gone tomorrow. Life and Death." When one thinks of war in the 20th century we are reminded of the atrocities that took place all over Europe. Man's evil to another man, and who described that surrealism better than artist Otto Dix. Living through two wars Dix illustrated death, destruction, and decadence people lived in both in their hearts and in their minds. Life was indeed surreal. Steve Danzig's work has a haunting reference to "after the fallout." After the destruction, devastation, and eventual death. I call it "WHITE DEATH" because you can feel how alive people are in their movement to the after life. That transport from physical life to death is not an easy transition. You truly feel how life and the "mortar" of the material world is hard to let go of. Danzig's allegorical works are so reminiscent of Heronymous Bosch, Breugal, and Francis Bacon all combined in one. You feel the old, the ancient, and yet there is the future: Something that has a bit of irony in the after life. What future is there when one is dead? Danzig poses this question repeatedly"WHITE DEATH" with life. You just can't help looking at these pictures. You are drawn in. Maybe there are some revealing answers about the future of death, where will we be going and how will we feel? I am certain that all of these questions are subconscious in a time of uncertainty and the lurking of mass destruction. Danzig has tackled this question head on. Indeed a man of his time writing a scenario we are all so inquisitive to follow. Steve Danzig PO Box 437 Elsternwick 3185 Melbourne AUSTRALIA wwweb: http://www.internationaldigitalart.com |
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