Tag Archives: 1985

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Knight Horrors by Aaron Bohrod

Leave a comment

knight horrors by aaron bohrod photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

Knight Horrors looks like some sort of surreal still life extracted from  a child’s  fever dream — and the longer you look, the stranger it gets.  A tiny armored knight on horseback  occupies the center of the scene, surrounded by an outrageous assortment of creatures and characters: a grinning finger puppet-style monster perched on the helmet of a Roman soldier, a grimacing gremlin, a colorful parrot, a rat, a flamingo, a skull and assorted other fantastical beings. It’s part cabinet of curiosities, part nightmare, and part seriously weird family portrait.

Painted in 1985 by American artist Aaron Bohrod, Knight Horrors is an oil painting on gesso panel measuring just 12 by 16 inches. The title itself seems to contain a little visual joke: Knight Horrors sounds suspiciously like “night terrors,” which makes the painting feel like a parade of creatures that have escaped from somebody’s particularly bizarre dream. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Knight Horrors by Aaron Bohrod →

Pop Culture, Toys and Collectibles

Pink Thing of The Day: Astronaut Barbie In Pink Metallic Spacesuit Circa 1985

Leave a comment

african american astronaut barbie photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

The Astronaut Barbie released by Mattel in 1985 was part of the brand’s long-running effort to inspire young girls to dream big. This particular doll was notable for her futuristic Pink Metallic Space Suit, complete with silver accents, a bubble-style helmet, and Pink Boots.
Continue reading Pink Thing of The Day: Astronaut Barbie In Pink Metallic Spacesuit Circa 1985 →

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: John Baldessari, Buildings=Guns=People…

Leave a comment

buildings gun people by john baldessari photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

In 1985, John Baldassari began using dots to obscure faces, which became one of his most recognizable devices. By removing the distinguishable features, Baldassari turns the figure into an archetype. In Buildings, Guns, People: Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) includes dot-covered faces in generic photographs from political and social functions, turned on their sides.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: John Baldessari, Buildings=Guns=People… →

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Big Oval By Jane Dickson

Leave a comment

big oval by jane dickson photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

In 1980, Jane Dickson (b. 1952)and her husband, artist Charlie Ahearn (b. 1951), moved into a loft near New York’s then seedy, but glittering Times Square where,  two years earlier, she’d found work programming the first Spectacolor billboard. Attracted to the neighborhood’s brilliant nighttime signage, she began working with oil stick against deep-black backgrounds to evoke the gleam of the nocturnal scenes she witnessed. Traveling to Florida in the mid-1980s, Dickson happened one night upon a carnival filled with amusement rides. She eventually created Big Oval (1985) from pictures and sketches, painting the roller coaster’s arc of blazing lights stretching up into the night.

Photographed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York City

Arts and Culture

Super Mario Clouds By Cory Arcangel

Leave a comment

Super Mario Clouds
Photo By Gail

For this installation, entitled Super Mario Clouds (2002), Cory Arcangel hacked into and modified a cartridge of a Super Mario Bros, the blockbuster Nintendo videogame released in the United States in 1985. By tweaking the game’s code, the artist erased all of the audio and visual elements except for the iconic, fluffy white clouds that scroll endlessly across the bright blue sky.
Continue reading Super Mario Clouds By Cory Arcangel →