Patrick McGoohan

Number Six, a man who keeps to himself, is stalked by Rover.    It was on this day, ten years ago, that the terrific Patrick McGoohan passed away. A formidable and moody presence, the dullest of dramas was always enlivened by his charm and elegance.  The Prisoner is one of my all-time favourite things ever …

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The Fantastic Art of Norman Shaw

Untitled.   I have been aware of the art and writings of the Highland artist, Norman Shaw (born 1970), since 2014/15, but, for a while, I could not find his website nor the artwork, even though I had written about him before. Mr. Shaw has a recognizable style and aesthetic that chimes with me; most …

The Art of Stefan Zechowski

Untitled. Another fascinating yet obscure artist who has been brought to my attention. Stefan Zechowski (1912-1984) was a Polish artist who had the misfortune to be active in the era of the Stalinists, who did not look kindly upon his work. His home was set alight by a neighbour, resulting in the loss of many …

The History of Nothing, by Eduardo Paolozzi

Eduardo Paolozzi, J.G. Ballard, Euphoria Bliss, and company at the Royal Academy of Art, 1972.    My appreciation for the great collage artist and sculptor, Eduardo Paolozzi, is more than localized interest; his friendship with J.G. Ballard notwithstanding, I have always leaned more towards his sculptures and his slightly less Americanized collages. I have always …

The Art of Jerzy Janisch

Sisters   Jerzy Janisch (1901 - 1962) was a Polish artist of the fantastic and surrealistic who worked in painting and photomontage. Around the early fifties, he worked in a social realist vein, but it is his surrealist pieces which survive the waves of Time. They are rather good.   Fairy    Composition    Man …

Spectral Realms

Cover art by Harry Clarke.  I have been informed that the sales of the excellent Hippocampus Press poetry journal, Spectral Realms, have, regrettably, been rather poor. Poetry of a fantastical and macabre nature has undergone something of a renaissance over the past decade, almost all of it drawing upon the poetic lineage of Poe and Clark …

Mark E. Smith (1957-2018)

  It was unfortunate to hear of the passing of singer, songwriter, and musician, Mark E. Smith, the frontman for the post-punk band, The Fall. Admittedly, I am still something of a novice to The Fall when it comes to their music, but I had always known that Smith was an admirer of the likes …

The Grotesque Art of Eric Lacombe

Crow-Man.     Eric Lacombe is a contemporary French artist whose artwork, like many of the artists I love, explores the dark and strange side of the human condition, with figures with rotted, flaking skin and others in the process of changing into decaying animals. The highly detailed, mottled splendour reminds me of some of …

The Art of Prophet Royal Robertson

  The artist outside his home.  It is always a delight to come across such singular and, inevitably, semi-obscure individuals who do not neatly fit into society's boxes. However, the outsider art category, by its very nature, often risks pigeonholing such figures, but this is not the place to discuss this. Instead, I wish to …

The Art of Jeanie Laub and Claire McGee

  The Writer, by Jeanie Laub.   I recently discovered Edinburgh-based artist, Jeanie Laub, via the Folk Horror Revival anthology, Corpse Roads, (which contains two poems by yours truly). Her pallid artwork is primarily inspired by childhood, found objects, and the rusting charm of vintage toys. Among her drawings and paintings are installation boxes inspired by Joseph Cornell. Some of …