This past weekend, Camille Rose Garcia gave an artist talk at San Francisco’s Walt Disney Family Museum. The chat coincided with Down the Rabbit Hole, a new exhibition of over 40 original concept artworks and murals Garcia created for the 2010 HarperCollins edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
I’m not typically one to purchase multiple iterations of Disney classics, but Garcia’s Alice marked the 2nd artist edition Alice in Wonderland book I’ve bought this year. (For something different and yet not necessarily dissimilar, take a look at Yayoi Kusama’s delightfully dotty Wonderland here.)
Venturing Down the Rabbit Hole with Camille Rose Garcia at the Disney Museum was a perfect match. A frequent attendee at Disneyland in her youth, Garcia’s work often expresses the polarity between The Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland) and The Saddest Place on Earth (Everywhere Else). Tere Romo curated the exhibition and also mediated the artist talk. Alas, I have only been to Florida’s Disney World, and not California’s Disneyland. Whereas the former is a popular East Coast family vacation spot, the latter seems akin to a religious experience for my West Coast friends. (If anyone wants to sponsor me on a missionary trip to Disneyland, clickety-click here.)
While Garcia also illustrated an edition of Disney’s Snow White, it’s clear she had a special connection to Alice. During the chat, Garcia talked about how unusual it would have been in the late 1800s to have a character like Alice: a strong female hero-child who also questioned authority. Garcia mentioned being captivated by Lewis Carroll’s dreamlike, surrealist prose that seemed to get at the stranger examples of our reality. Like Carroll’s books, Garcia’s artistic universe is filled with symbolic storytelling and non-linear narratives.
I took some notes during the Q&A, and this was one of my favorites. When asked how she went from being a great artist to a great artist who is also known, Camille Rose Garcia replied: “Ball’s out persistence!” And then: “If I get rejected from anything, I just pretend people are crazy.” Love it!
I love when artists use their canvases to critique and communicate about our world. Garcia talked about the difficulties of reconciling life in a capitalist society with the desire to live sustainably. I even raised my hand to ask a question. (And no, it wasn’t “Why is a raven like a writer’s desk?”) read full article




































































































Manufactured Images by Denis Dubois
Written on April 25, 2013 by jeremy"The Young and the Restless" © Denis Dubois
I’m digging these images by French graphiste Denis Dubois. By gently tweaking old-time illustrations, Dubois expresses humor and cynicism for our modern world. The incredibly prolific artist refers to what he does as “manufactured images.”
"Crown" and "Prisoner of Fashion" © Denis Dubois
I love art with commentary, and I love art with wordplay, so Dubois’ collages are win-win with me. As I was scrolling through his blog, I couldn’t help but pair up a few that seemed to generate an additional layer of commentary when placed next to each other.
"Who Am I?" © Denis Dubois
Many of Denis Doubois’ pieces deal with issues of identity and uncertainty amid change and technology. Despite their antiquated look, the concepts are more current than ever. You can order signed and numbered prints in a variety of sizes priced between ~$40 and ~$500 USD directly from the artist by writing to: denis.dubois1 [at] yahoo [dot] france.
"Brainwashing" and "Big Brother" © Denis Dubois
As an appropriate footnote to the above pairing of Dubois’ manufactured images, you can find him on Facebook here.
"Hot Girl" © Denis Dubois
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