By DARLA MCCAMMON

Lakeland Art Association

Inside the Sistine Chapel.

I hope you readers appreciate what I have been subjected to view in preparation for this series on eccentric and unusual artists and art!  Some of the ones I have chosen not to write about are the following: Artists who paint with human ashes, an artist who attaches a paintbrush to his eye and tries to paint, an artist who chops up 200,000 dead ants to create a portrait, (someone supposedly paid $35,000 for this piece, but I find that hard to believe), then there is the artist who uses one of his manly body parts to create what he is calling art, another artist uses his tongue and in the process makes himself violently ill, but he keeps doing it! Not to be outdone by our “manly” approach to art, an American artist with other body parts more grand than Dolly Parton, uses those same appendages to create abstract paintings, yet another group of Ukraine artists dive into the black sea with specially prepared canvases and apply the paint underwater, more eccentric work abounds with the artist who paints in blood. Hong Yi used a basketball and red paint to create a realistic work of retiring Houston Rockets basketball player, Yao Ming. Lastly in this bizarre collection an artist who uses vomit as his paint.

I had to wade through a lot of strange and odd so-called art to do this series. I doubt if I will repeat it. I hope you are grateful.  They say “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but what do you think about these artists?  Were they producing anything of beauty or of redeeming value or is the bottom line getting publicity and making money?  I will let you be the judge.  Some studies find the reason people seem to admire these eccentric artists is because there is an unconscious perception that they are better than their less eccentric peers. For today, we will end this series with our last eccentric artist.

Most of us do not think about Michelangelo as anything other than one of the most exquisite painters and sculptors in history.  The Sistine Chapel is literally covered wall to wall with his work and it is awe inspiring.  His birth name was Michelangelo Buonarroti.  He was born in Caprese, Italy   But did you know that Michelangelo also seldom took a bath and frequently went to bed with all his clothing on?  One of his apprentices said when he took off his shoes several layers of dead skin would also fall off!  He also wasn’t always honest.  In 1496 he copied another sculpture and doctored it to look old, then passed it off as his original.  He was not the first choice for the Sistine Chapel.  He included his self-portrait in many of his works as his signature. He never married, had no offspring, and though he became very wealthy, prided himself on living as a commoner, often in squalor.  He became a recluse in his old age and did not have a winning personality, causing one altercation which resulted in his permanently crooked nose.  For those of you who bemoan growing older, remember that Michelangelo worked hard on St. Peter’s Basilica from age 74 till his death at age 88.

Upcoming and Current Events: 

• Visit the Christmas Boutique at Lakeland Art Association!  Find lovely creative and innovative items including paintings, crafts and more! Located at 302 E. Winona Avenue in Warsaw. Open at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
• Paul Ramain exhibit at Warsaw City Hall. Open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free Admission. Ramain is changing this exhibit frequently, so be sure to make return visits till it closes at the end of December.

For more information on topics in this column, please contact Darla McCammon at [email protected] or (574) 527-4044. Older columns at www.darlamc.com