Craving the Bizarre

The Meat Magi, Mark Ryden
Oil on canvas, 1997

***

I'm not sure what's gotten into me today. I can't blame it on Daylight Savings Time (although in theory and in practice it annoys me) and we've had another layoff today. There's sort of a numbing action, a mind freeze that I haven't been able to shake since I got into the office. I had all of these creative ideas this morning on the train, things that gave me energy, and then I got to my desk, and it's like my brain got sucked out of my head and I don't know how to get it back. Now I just want to take a nap.

I know when I get this way, I find that I seek out the surreal, the bizarre and the off-kilter to reclaim a little balance. I'm not really one for a feel-good movie. Odds are that Brazil or Invasion of the Body Snatchers will make me feel better. Or I'll read one of the most messed up Grimm's Fairy Tales I can find.

I guess when your world feels a bit skewed, there's nothing better than seeing something a little more skewed to put things back to rights again.

***

I first discovered Mark Ryden's work in a book at Dog Eared Books on Valencia Street. I couldn't tear myself away from the sweet and disturbing images he creates. I can't always put my finger on the message he is presenting, but I can still sense the truth behind the images.

I spent part of my lunch at the SF MOMA bookstore looking at Sweet Wishes.

There was something so wrong about it that it made me laugh.