Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
LAURA CERWINSKE
Mr. Slick comes to town... and all the girls are jazzed.
So begins Laura Cewinskes comic tale in words and pictures. Unamused by the consequent dither over Mr. Slicks arrival, The Empress Fulfaggotra unleashes a force of superheroes, artists, and unsuspecting angels. A surreal frolic to restore Her Grace ensues, and Love, naturally, is the reward.
Laura would love to create books and art for you, too. Heres a comic taste to whet your imagination. Turn the page to meet Mr. Slick and dream on
Graph ic Desi gn by Elle Pri cken | www.e llepric ken.co m
Mr. Slick
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comes to town
are jazzed.
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lifts a salute.
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The Empress
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Fulfaggotra,
however,
is not amused.
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Ooooooo.
The Blue Hair Lady and The Man with the Tangerine suit hold hands,
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the Patriarch,
Exploding heads...
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and...
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glowing
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heads
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and women
kneeling artists,
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and exultant
dames
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agree.
Love
is Fulfaggotras message.
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Halleleulah!
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and it showed.
ABOUT
&
companions of all ages and tongues, and they encouraged her in good deeds and prayer. They tutored her in the healing, creative, and martial arts. They trained her as a hunter, a warrior, an artist, and healer. They taught her nurture and benign rule. In time, Fulfaggotra grew to be the most powerful deity in all the Heavens. Universally adored, She took lovers on land and sea and populated every continent with her Earth-worshipping children. She cultivated civility among migratory creatures. She wove enchantment into the rituals of life. Eventually, Fulfaggotras power came to outweigh, overshadow, and outlast that of all other deities in OurStory. Mami Wata is a plural noun that connotes the myriad, ancient water deities of Africa, whose priesthoods are matriarchal. Mami Wata once inspired not only African cultures but also the ancient Anatolian, Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman traditions. Mami Wata deities are often half mermaid, half reptile or fish, primordial deities who were the bringers of justice, and who established complex theological, moral, social, political, economic and cultural foundations. She says, I hold the mysteries of your life. All will be well. Judiths series Stop the Executions (page 29) depicts images from the centuries of witch trials that decimated much of the worlds population of wise women, midwives, and herbalists.
Mr. Slick lives for excitement. Once he gets the girls jazzed, he can get away with just about anything. He is expert at the fond gaze, the warm palm, the ready, grin. A master of distraction, Mr. Slick thrills to games, prizing his ease at arousing in others whatever desire of heart or loins best serves him. He reserves his feasts of vengeance for those who most wish to love him. He is insatiable. The Goddess Fulfaggotra represents the incarnation of Beauty, Creativity, Sensuality, the Extravagant, the Voluptuous, and the Ridiculous. Her mythology, created by Laura Cerwinske, is described as follows: In a heavenly collision of constellations, Creations two most powerful deities Imagination and Passion were sent rocking from their celestial cradles into the sparkling web of Divinity. Imagination grew to embody Beauty, Creativity and Sensuality; Passion ruled the Extravagant, the Voluptuous, and the Ridiculous. Out of their embrace was born a Daughter whom they called Fulfaggotra. The name, of Fauxmaic origin, derived from Fulfaggotore, meaning to Celebrate, to Decorate, to Animate. Imagination and Passion lavished upon Fulfaggotra a life of wisdom and exuberance. They guided her in accordance with the constellations; taught her the lore and law of the forests; and provided gardens for cultivation of her daydreams. They welcomed
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&
ABOUT THE
ARTISTS
Laura Cerwinske makes art and books. Her continuous body of work, produced throughout the last forty years, includes painting, sculpture, drawing, collage, assemblage, altar-making, print and digital photography, photo styling, art directing, and book design. Like Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, she also supported herself as an artists model. Many of the Lauras images in this book, including Mr. Slick and The Empress Fulfaggotra, were taken as part of a photograph series of window displays (perpetually in progress). Mr. Slick, one of the quintessential Mad Men, if ever there was, was actually photographed on New York Citys Madison Avenue. The Girls (pages 8-9, 34), The Ladies Liberty (pp 10-11), Superman (p. 19) Bugs Bunny and Wonder Woman (p 17), Betty Boop, and the Glowing Heads (pp 44 45), were photographed in store windows on Fifth Avenue. The Empress Fulfaggotra (p. 13) continues to appear in a window on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. Lauras gallery of altars, icons, and artifacts comprising The Art of Fulfaggotry can be seen at www.fulfaggotry.com. Learn more about Laura at www.lauracerwinske.com/pages/art Judith Hoch (pp. 28-29, 63) is an artist and anthropologist who lives half each year on the South Island of New Zealand where she paints, practices and teaches yoga, and cultivates and is reforesting forty acres of gardens and trees. The inspirations for her various series include the spontaneous, natural icons of the early Neolithic
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appropriation of comic book heroes and neo-historical revisionism. His paintings, drawings, and work in other media have been exhibited throughout the world. Since 1992 he has Lived and worked in Miami, Barcelona, New York, and Milan. Learn more about Ciro Quintana at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/ciro-quintana.html Ruben Torres Llorca (p. 46) was born and educated in Havana, where he was part of an internationally recognized group of artists who challenged the countrys artistic scenario. A lover of fiction, he credits the Afro-Cuban tradition for teaching hiim the use of the emblem, the construction of the altar, the dramatic importance of space, the preference of three-dimensional representation and fragmentation. His preference for simple materials derives from Mexican craftsmanship, and he considers sociology and architecture as major influences. He has been exhibited in Europe and the U.S. and has lived in Miami since 1993. Learn more about Ruben Torres Llorcas work at www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-historyinterview-ruben-torresllorca-13547 David Chieppo (pp. 22-23) is a cultural portraitist who was born in the U.S., but has resided in Switzerland since 1998. His luscious paintings could be called figurative abstractions of humanity seeped in pristine isolation.
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Laura would love to: Develop books for you. Curate a program on Creativity for your organization. Create curricula for your art program. Coach you and/or your collective. Cultivate your visionary thinking. Contact her at: laura@lauracerwinske.com Enjoy Lauras blog, Lauraputsout...words,pictures,ideas, where she writes about and illustrates topics ranging from dogs and neighbors to art and architecture to to love and duplicity to her Affair with the Chair. Lauras monthly eblast includes her images and recommendations for films, videos, books, artists, and metaphysical miscellany. Sign up on page 80.
Follow Laura on
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CREDITS
& ATTRIBUTIONS
Cover photograph: from the series Madison Avenue Windows by Laura Cerwinske, 2010 Page 7 Pages 8-9 Pages 10-11 Page 13 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Pages 18-19 Pages 22-23 Page 24 Pages 26-27 Pages 28-29 Page 30 Page 31 Pages 32-33 Page 34 Page 35 Pages 36-37 Page 38 Mr. Slick, photograph by Laura Cerwinske The Girls are Jazzed, photographs by Laura Cerwinske Ladies Liberty, photographs by Laura Cerwinske The Empress Fulfaggotra from the series Miracle Mile Windows, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Barry at the Bass, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Popeye is Everywhere, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Bugs and the Lady, photograph by Laura Cerwinske The Big Boys, photographs by Laura Cerwinske detail of a painting by David Chieppo Mr. Slicks Dog, photograph by Laura Cerwinske The Artist Barry Zaid and His Boys, photograph by Laura Cerwinske The artists Judith Hoch and Laura Cerwinske at the exhibition of Hochs series Accursed Charms, Cape Cod, MA, 1990 Portrait of the Artist Dina Knapp by Laura Cerwinske Dina Knapp at the Bass Museum, Miami, Florida 2006, painting and photograph by Laura Cerwinske The Monas, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Harold and Shirley, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Shirley, Now and Then, portrait by Laura Cerwinske details of El Patio de Mi Casa es Particular, a painting by Ciro Quintana, 2010 The Girls are Jazzed, photograph by Laura Cerwinske, from the Window Displays series
Pages 40-41 Jeromes Window, photograph by Laura Cerwinske, from the Window Displays series Page 42 Andy on Houston, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Pages 43-45 Glowing Heads, photograph by Laura Cerwinske, from the Window Displays series Page 46 detail of Sin Noticias de la Habana by Ruben Torres Llorca, 2010 Page 47 Mike Bonner at his school, Mikes Flying Service. Photograph courtesy of Dana Bonner Page 48 Portrait of the artist Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Photograph of the Photograph at Art Basel by Laura Cerwinske, 2008 Page 49 Richard Protovin on his Knees Page 50 Henriequita and Angel, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Page 51 Peg at Books and Books, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Pages 52-53 The Girlfriends at Age 90, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Pages 54- 55 The Girls and Mr. Slick, photographs by Laura Cerwinske, from the Window Displays series Page 57 Eyes Upward, photograph by Laura Cerwinske, from the Window Displays series Page 58-59 The Graces, photograph by Laura Cerwinske Pages 60 Watch and Frolic, photographs by Laura Cerwinske Page 61 Painting by Laura Cerwinske of a 19th century Capodimonte porcelain jar from Bonnin Ashley Antiques, Miami, Florida Page 62 detail of El Patio de Mi Casa es Particular, a painting by Ciro Quintana, 2010 Page 63 detail from the painting Mami Wata by Judith Hoch, 2009 Page 65 detail of a life size drawing by Laura Cerwinske, conte crayon and pastel on paper,1995 Page 67 Always in My Dreams, photograph by Laura Cerwinske, from the Window Displays series
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