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| In Search of Benvenuto Cellini |
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| Mechanical Theatre |
I only just discovered unfamous, long-gone California artist Steven Arnold (1943-1994), "one of the most prolific unsung forefathers of the burgeoning high art subculture of the '60s, '70s, and '80s." He was (until his early death) remarkably active in a dozen different genres, styles, modes. From what I have seen so far, the extensive series of black-and-white tableaux vivants sampled here represent the strand of Arnold's work that interests me the most.
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| The Sovereign Right of Self-Discovery |
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| The Card Reading |
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| Prayer for the Cure |
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| Inseminating the Marvelous |
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| Connecting to the Infinite |
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| Apogee of the Idea |
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| Wreaking with Inclinations |
"Sometimes I’m not sure I like being nailed to the word tableaux, even though it’s the one I myself use most often in referring to these pieces. I also think of them as magical Rorschach tonkas. The word tonka implies a certain usefulness as an object for meditation. I like that. What the hell. Call them tablonkas! Or tongleaux! Whatever they are, I’ve found a great happiness in this form. It uses every part of me.”
Images and quotes -- Steven Arnold Archive