|
|
|
Every modern artist is in fact participating in a kind of uniqueness competition. They need to find a feeling that other artists fail to describe, and the more minute, the more unexpected, the better. Alex is at the forefront of this competition by expressing a kind of black humor in his paintings. It's the first time I've seen a mix of tragedy, comedy, and social comment fall onto one canvas. The above painting throws us into a kind of surreally simple world, one that is of our own creation. The man on the top of the building is contemplating suicide, but far from Anna Karenina, he practically has a big "L" tatooed to his forehead. He has lots of issues, as we say this Oprahesque era. He's not a manly man - he's scared out of his wits. The issues bring him to the edge, though these issues only exist in that oddly over-simplified world of his. Alex is most interested in the jumper's face, and he goes into great detail over its enflamation - all the crevasses, the poisonous volcanic eruptions. This face's topography, these hepatitis eyes - they all point to a kind of sickness - though the sickness is not just his, it's also in us: the spectators.
|
|
|
