Friday, May 15, 2015

BUCKLEE BELL SOCKS - IT-TO -'EM

The  kaleidoscopic   acrylic  paintings  of  artist   Bucklee  Bell cover politics , exotic Asian  subjects ,  natural disasters , the   human  condition,  his  stand against  genetic  modification  of  plants,   war ,  aspects of  his  early  life in  America when he was  involved  in the  hippie  revolution . Then  there  is  his  black  and  white   art  side , his  love  of  tribal  art , his  wide knowledge of  beads .
In  this post the emphasis  is on  his political  views, which leave no doubt  about his feelings . The above work  is  entitled Parliament, a uniform  mass of  block like figures .The  larger one  bottom right in the painting  could  be mistaken for a Nolan rendition of  that  good old boy, Ned Kelly , the Australian  bushranger, but  no.

The  godawful  former US President  ,George "Dubya" Bush, is shown  below, in the nude,  being slowly lowered  , ingloriously , into  the River Styxx.
The  fact that prisoners  were waterboarded , an act applauded by Vice President  Dick Cheney,resulted  in  him  being  depicted as "Coffee Boarding Dick Cheney."
 
 
The use of  drones to bomb people is  also covered below in another striking   work . In the top drawing  a nude woman lying on the floor in an apartment  says  it is a "no drone day" but in  the bottom panel  it looks  as if  a drone is  coming  on  a  nice sunny day,seemingly guided by a strange  figure with a halo?
 
After all this political mayhem, bombing , barbarity   and  tampering  with plant genetics ,  can   there   possibly be a  beacon of  hope  up  ahead  ? Well, yes , if you are hallucinating , and  scan his   acrylic on canvas below called ,  "What's  that  at  the end of  the  tunnel ?" 

It seems to indicate that illumination of a kind could  be  spotted  by some unusual surviving life-forms  , including an  anorexic   Ossie   Ostrich  from  Hey! Hey! It's Saturday! , a mutated  Galah, a serpent developing a forked tail , some freaky fungi  and  Mae West's  bust  on  a  pedestal. The borders remind  one  of  panels in  a  prize  winning  Country Women's  Association  patchwork quilt  
 
And now for something entirely different ...Bucklee  Bell   models one of his own fashion creations  at  an exhibition of his black and white art  in  the Meeting Room  Art Café Gallery-a great place to chill out , run by Joe-in  Chiang  Mai,Thailand. If  Versace and  Nike  don't rush in  and sign  him  up  it will reflect  badly on  them.