The "Artists" posts are about artists that have influenced and inspired me. There are so many artists that will never be featured that way, though,
and maybe they should be. Maybe they would inspire me, as well, if only
I knew about their work or were shown their work from a different point
of view. So if there's an artist you think should be featured, please
consider submitting a guest post.
I was sixteen years old the first time I knew I was looking at Bernie Wrightson's work. I know that because I was sixteen years old the first time I heard a song by Meat Loaf and immediately felt like I needed to start buying Meat Loaf albums. (I can't explain this. I can only point out that if Meat Loaf, Tenacious D, and Spinal Tap would tour together I'd die of a broken heart if I didn't get to go to a concert.) I like to read the liner notes on albums. There's some interesting commentary sometimes. And there are a lot of people involved in an album that you may never hear of otherwise. That's how I found out Bernie Wrightson had done some of the album covers.
I also spent a big part of my high school years building a collection of Stephen King novels, and I found out Bernie Wrightson had done illustrations for Cycle of the Werewolf. Somehow, this is one I've wanted for a very long time, but still don't have. I've had the chance to look at it, though, and can't imagine it being quite as good with someone else's art. He also did the book adaptation for Stephen King's movie Creepshow, which also goes in the "Why do I still not have that?" category. (I have the movie. Just not the book.)
What I didn't know when I was sixteen was that I'd actually seen Wrightson's work several times in comic books. At this point, his style is recognizable to me. And it's a style that works, though I like to call it the "Too Much is Just Enough" style. It's not a visual assault for me, but something of a mental assault that I start to pull back from and look at a little at a time... and that's when it disturbs me. Which is a good thing. After all, most of what I've seen is his horror work.
There are just too many muscles, and too much bulging! Too many bits of flesh and stretchy mucus-like strings of goo! And how many colors can human flesh really be all at one time?
But instead of being visually "busy", it just seems a bit unreal. Then I take another look... Okay, so there's the werewolf. How many teeth does a werewolf have? Oh God, the teeth are sinking into the... Oh! That's blood. And internal organs. The art flows like that. What was "too many colors" at first becomes a mix of flesh, fluids, and light reflected from terrifying sources. Yes, there are too many muscles. Yes, it's unnatural. And that's how you know the victim isn't just screaming in pain, but also because their mind is at that point where it would be a mercy if their sanity would just go ahead and shatter.
Seeing something will always disturb me more than reading about it. It keeps me from being able to watch gore-filled horror movies, no matter how much of a fan of the genre I am. Wrightson's work has always been something that lures me back because I have to take it in small doses. I want to see his use of color. I want to take another look at how he does detail. I know I could learn from his use of lighting and shapes. But taking another look always means I can only look for a little while. Sure, it's just a cartoon... doesn't look real at all. But it sticks with me, and the themes turn themselves over in my mind for a little while. And isn't that exactly what art should do?
According to the Wikipedia article on him, Wrightson did production design for the Reavers in Serenity. I think of Zoe explaining what a threat Reavers are by saying, "If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into our clothing. And if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order," and I have to say Wrightson is definitely someone I would have wanted involved in creating such a creature.
Horror isn't everyone's "thing", though monsters do serve a purpose. They give us something to look at that can be defeated and destroyed when all of our real life worries and fears seem overwhelming due to their intangible nature. Some of you may find yourself wondering why someone would want to create such things, and why someone else would even want to look at them. Well... he also gave us Swamp Thing. Not exactly winning any "Cute and Cuddly" awards, but dude... he's Swamp Thing!
Geek Note: One could say it was Alan Moore who gave us the Swamp Thing I first became familiar with and I wouldn't try to ignore that, being a fan of his work, as well. But there had to already be a Swamp Thing to be handed over to Moore, and Wrightson was one of the two original creators.
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