The Mystic Otto Rapp

Thursday, June 9, 2016

IM’AGO PRIMORDIALIS exhibition at Krab Jab Studio, Seattle USA

OPENING SOON !

July 9 – September 3, 2016

Artists’ reception:

July 9, 2016, 6-9 PM

Krab Jab Studio

5628 Airport Way S. Suite 150

Seattle, USA

photos and posters reproduced are courtesy of Don Farrell

Artworks by :
Ernst Fuchs, H.R. Giger, Brigid Marlin,
Martina Hoffmann, Robert Venosa,
Peter Gric, Roku Sasaki, Tomasz Alen Kopera,

Steven Kenny, Liba W. Stambollion, Igor Grechanyk,

Amanda Sage, Autumn Skye Morrison, Susannah Martin, Andrew Gonzalez,

Otto Rapp, Forest Rogers, Jean Pronovost, Miguel Tio, Benjamin Vierling,

Jeff Mihalyo, Don Farrell, Yvette Endrijautzki,

William Fahey and Bryan K. Ward.

Curated by : Don Farrell, in association with Krab Jab Studio

Ernst Fuchs - Frau Lot

“Knowing doesn’t reside in the knower,

nor does truth in what is known,

but in between.”

– “A Mystical Epistemology”, Peter Reason

Mystery has been banished; everything must be defined. And yet, while analytical thought bestows many gifts upon civilization, we remain insatiable. As if the unknown, itself, is the very ferment of community, humility, love….and life.

Embracing mystery as a source of inspiration, Fantastic Realists from around the world present this exhibition of numinous, visionary art – to reawaken feeling and intuition marginalized in today’s cynical analyses.

Like the mystical traditions of countless cultures, their works assign symbols to The Unknowable, reaching through the ephemeral illusion we have come to know as reality, to an underlying, timeless, spiritual narrative. Universal mythology is interpreted with vivid imagination, and masterful technique renders it believably real.

Beneath the veil of seeming, an intuitive, visual language suggests that we are all part of something glorious, yet unrevealed. Fulfillment reflects from mystery in the primordial image, encouraging us to find, within ourselves, a unique understanding beyond the grasp of intellect…a feeling of connection…our own personal harmony with an ancient melody that is often unheard amidst the dissonance of perpetual immediacy.

Text by Don Farrell

________________________________________________________________

I will be showing my drawing SPIRAL RAPTURE II

____________________________________________________________________

Poster featuring the artwork of Roku Sasaki

(poster courtesy Don Farrell)

____________________________________________________________________________________

Featured Workshop with BRIGID MARLIN

To register for this workshop go to

Brigid Marlin weekend workshop, July 9 & 10, 2016

----- ~ -----

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Alberta art gallery takes down student’s work after complaint over nudity

A Lethbridge student's art piece is being called, by some, too controversial for elementary school students. The Lethbridge Public School Board asked the Southern Alberta Art Gallery to take the piece down after a parent complained.

A piece of art created by a Lethbridge high school student has been taken down from where it was hung at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) after someone filed a complaint about it. .............. Kimberly Tams from CBC has more.

My own 2 cents worth of comment:

Is this for real? It sounds like a bad Saturday Night Live spoof about this Alberta hick town, or maybe something one would expect to happen in ISIS controlled parts of Syria. Certainly not in a modern Western Society. That the Lethbridge School District 51 would give in to a complaint by a obviously uncultured prude is astonishing; laughable if it were not such a sad reflection on what misunderstood 'political correctness' has come to dictate, forcing the moral position of one onto the general public. What next? This piece is a brillant collage by this grade 12 student, a tribute to historical art. Next would be banning any depictions of Michelangelo's work found in places such as the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Good enough for the pope, but oh, not suitable for the morals of prudish Lethbridge. And again, Southern Alberta's Lethbridge makes it self the laughing stock of Canada and the world! Way to go!

Pictured is a familiar piece, the Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli.

But it appears this made the rounds already, here is a write-up in Metro News:

A student's work has been deemed too racy for a Lethbridge school board's elementary school children after parent complaints.

The classic art remix, a collage of works including the Birth of Venus, has been whisked away to a private viewing room.

All of the schools in Lethbridge participate in an arts program to submit student work chosen by teachers to the Southern Alberta Art Galley (SAAG) – it’s called Art’s Alive.

The works range from kindergarten-aged children to students in Grade 12.

On Wednesday of last week the Lethbridge School District No. 51 took down a Grade 12 student's work after a parent, or several parents, complained “about the content of the work.”

...... read more

by Helen Pike Metro News

_____________________________________________

UPDATE:

I had posted the original CBC article on Facebook. One comment I found particularly fitting was by a Portuguese artist friend:

Crazyness! I would call it the "Fig Leaf syndrome". I recall the Michelangelo's David episode... but that happened in the Victorian era . Nowadays, people with such psychological disorders would make better use of their time getting adequate therapy instead of spending time in galleries. Just sayin'...

Now here is another one:

I can't avoid being shocked by the recurrent news about artwork being banned for nudity from galleries and museums. It always provides me an involuntary travel in time - but no thanks, my eyes are on the opposite direction!
-Is the artwork so empty of art that it can only activate particular parts of the viewer's brain?
- Does the viewer own a real brain, with real nervous tissue and all?
Now, seriously, worldwide perverts, blind spirits and narrow-minded religious freaks, get a life... and especially a good psychotherapist!! The rest of the world says "Ah! Good for you! Was about time!".
"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful that the garment with which it is clothed?" (Michelangelo)
Yeah! Back to the 15th century, what a cool guy Michelangelo was. Some centuries later, yeah, the question remains urgent:
What spirit?

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

W.A.G.E. Calls for New Museum to Fully Compensate Artists

Artist advocacy group Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.) is calling for the New Museum to receive certification to ensure all its artists earn fair pay as the building plans for expansion, funded by an ongoing $80 million capital campaign. In an open letter, the New York-based group expressed concerns that the museum will not properly compensate the people “upon whose work [its] existence is predicated,” the letter reads, as its programming naturally also grows. W.A.G.E. Certification is a voluntary program that signals an organization’s commitment to fees that meet a minimum pay standard.

The $80 million will pay for the takeover of the neighboring building, currently home to museum-led incubator New INC, but it will also triple the New Museum’s endowment. The museum has so far raised over half its fundraising goals thanks in part to a gift from collector Toby Devan Lewis, who provided an undisclosed amount that represents its largest single donation in its history, as the New York Times reported. W.A.G.E. is also asking the museum to request that Lewis provide the funds to make certification possible.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Fashion Designs by Otto Rapp

I had recently opened another exiting POD fashion store in addition to my (previously announced) label at VIDA. By partnering with MyWear® I was able to expand the variety of items which bear my unique designs. This complements also the many products I designed on Zazzle, as well as my artwork prints (and related products) on Pixels.

You are a unique individual, and so should be your fashions and accessories!

Mass-produced items that everyone wears and owns are not for you.

Zulu Tunic

Decalcomaniac Colorfield Tunic

Stand out from the crowd, assert your individuality with fashions designed with you in mind.

Whether it is clothing, shoes or a cellphone cover, the item you own may well be the only one in your city.

No one else is likely to own the exact same!

◄ Pictured here are examples of tunics I designed for MyWear - based on details of my artwork. ►

At my MyWear® shop, you will find a growing collection of great fashion items I designed just for you! Many more over-all printed tunics, dresses, tops and tee-shirts, but also a variety of bags, all with my individual designs based on my artwork, especially adapted for your specific garment or fashion item.

VISIT MY NEW STORE AT MYWEAR