Laurie Lipton has been creating disquieting, disturbing, horrific, and sometimes viciously funny black and white drawings for over 30 years. Every piece is a reaction to fear; fear of the monotony of modern technology, media and society, fear of the impersonal and banal infecting us and slowly removing our souls, fear of passion being replaced by mere process, and of course, fear of death. But if all that sounds awfully heavy and rather pretentiously ponderous, just let me add that her reaction to that fear is generally one of insane, maniacal laughter. These are painstakingly rendered drawings that clearly required hours upon hours of meticulous craftsmanship, and yet, all the while that insane cackling must have been going off in some distant corner of her brain. This may well be a prime example of art as therapy, and I would not be the least bit surprised to discover that Ms. Lipton is a perfectly pleasant and well adjusted person. On the outside.
You can wade through all 30 years of her images on her website: laurielipton.com
I would like to thank the folks at freaksonline.co.uk for introducing me to her work.
The Dead Factory - detail
Reality TV - detail
...and here's a piece from much earlier in her career:
I love these very much.
ReplyDeleteI love the surreal look of that final one, very reminiscent of dreams
ReplyDeleteMethril. You're right. It really does feel like a nightmare. I usually post more recent pieces but just had to include that one.
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