Short Film: A(r)men

"A(R)MEN" directed by Thomas Lunde

Written by Anders Olsen, Steinar Kaarstein, and Thomas Lunde

"A(r)men" is a bizarre Norwegian short film set in a world in which a dark personal tragedy triggers a chain of absurd consequences.

"Arne's life turns upside down when he loses his arm in a catastrophic accident. His new situation is filled with both emptiness and loss. Miraculously, his life takes an unexpected turn when a new arm grows out."

Artist: Jaroslaw Jasnikowski

Illustrations by Jaroslaw Jasnikowski

Currently Jasnikowski is one of the leading developers of fantastic realism in Poland.  Jarek, and his wife, Kate is also a painter, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, live and create in the village Pasiecznik in the foothills of the Jizera.

Jaśnikowski's paintings are characterized by his love for fantastic machines, as well as a love for the Gothic.  His paintings are shrouded in dark mystery steeped in dark atmosphere.

Artist: Andrew Ferez

Illustrations by Andrew Ferez

[ BlogSpot | DeviantArt | Facebook ]

Andrew Ferez is an digital artist and illustrator based in Moscow, Russia. He creates these magically artworks - they are often covers for various books, completely digitally, drawing on the computer with his Wacom pad.

Illustration: Input

"Input" Pen and Ink Drawings by Seattle-based Olivia Knapp

Limited edition prints available for purchase from the artist's website.

Olivia Knapp is an illustrator specializing in mind-lowly surreal pen-and-ink drawings that employ classic shading techniques from the Baroque period in imitation of European line engravings of decorative relief and scientific specimens from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Most of Olivia’s content explores the relationship between desire, reason, and circumstance. Her current body of work uses the head and heart as contrasting characters in an on going story.

Lego Creation: Salvador Dalí's Elephant

"The Elephant" by Korea-based Jin Kei

Jin Kei has recreated a portion of The Elephants, a 1948 painting by surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in LEGO.

Portrait: Cosmic Love

"Cosmic Love" photo series by Phillip Schumacher

Portrait: Mirror, Mirror

"Mirror, Mirror" by Viaframe

Portrait: Zero Gravity

"Zero Gravity" by Nikolay Tikhomirov

Portrait: Self Portraits

"Heartbeats II" by Xin Li

"I started this project because I wanted to grow as a photographer and to learn. And I did. I remember thinking working with a time limit every week would be very hard for me to do, and it was (balancing school and social life). At some point so much happened around me that I had to skip every second week and I felt so bad about that. There were days I just wanted to lay in bed and do nothing because I was so uninspired and hated everything I created, and days when everything worked out and I got exactly what I had in mind on my memory card. On those good days, I am smiling on my way home. 

This year (and four months) I've spent a huge amount of hours trying to come up with ideas, setting up things and shooting. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for thinking that stealing all the keys from my parent's house to use them as props, trying to shoot at 2 am in the middle of nowhere and almost setting the piano on fire was worth it. Then I think again, and I still think it's worth it.

This project have been completely dominated by self-portraits. The reason for that is not because of egoism or narcissism. I answered this question in an interview once, I said : It's about being as personal as possible. I want to express something, and I want you to feel close to it. Another reason for why I'm doing self-portraits is for the sake of documenting. Each piece reminds me of how I was at that point in my life and I think I will appreciate it later."

Illustration: A Separate Reality

"A Separate Reality" by Alex Andreyev

I love surreal digital paintings.  I don't think there's another modern art form half so inspiring, and Alex Andreyev's work is especially intriguing.  Each piece looks like a magnificent writing prompt, and I'm pretty sure that this collection could inspire a wicked good short story anthology.

"It sounds paradoxical but digital art attracts me because it is free of technological influence. While in traditional arts technologies dramatically limit the artist—his ability to stylize works in graphics or extremely time consuming process of paint drying—in digital painting I sit in front of a screen, grab the stylus and see the result immediately."

Paintings: Things From Space

"Village Church with Flying Saucer" by Mark Bryan

Part of the "Things From Space" series.

Mark Bryan juxtaposes pop-culture elements with classical scenery in this series of paintings that explores themes of invasion.  The series depicts a  dystopian future in which the Earth is under attack by flying saucers and robots.  Fighting back against the invaders are the likes of the Mona Lisa in a space helmet and Hello Kitty piloting a giant robot.  Bryan’s artwork stands out both for being visually distinctive and highly amusing.

Artist: Jie Ma

Jie Ma is a Chinese artist from Beijing who specializes in my favorite brand of surrealism.  As a kid,  The Mysteries of Harris Burdick was one of my favorite books.  Every since, I've been attracted to the sort of surreal fantasy realism that looks like its intended to be a writing prompt.  Ma's work certainly fits the bill.  Check out her CG Society portfolio.

Photography: Paper Realities

"Paper Realities" by Polish photographer Jan Kriwol

Paintings: Surreal Oil Paintings

Surreal Oil Paintings by Caleb Brown

"My paintings are cultural allegories that aim to reflect my view of the modern world. My conceptual process begins by selecting themes and elements of contemporary life (such as media culture, genetic engineering, globalization, etc.)which seem important and interesting to me. I then combine and expand those components into completely ridiculous scenes that depict a fictitious near-future or alternate reality. I attempt to balance the utter implausibility of these scenes by painting them as convincingly as I can. I have, over time, developed these images into several reoccurring motifs that continue to describe more fully a world that reflects (and develops parallel to) the ‘real world.’
My hope is that by employing this editorial and often satirical method of expression, rather than using a more journalistic approach, I might communicate my observations and feelings about our modern existence more aptly than by painting actual images of contemporary life."

Photography: Crash Landed

"Crash Landed" by Ken Hermann

Photography: Surreal Night Images

"Moon Born" surreal photography by Stephen Criscolo

Photography: Nature Preserved

"NATURE IS STORED IN A WAREHOUSE COMPLEX"
Created by Finnish Artist Ilkka Halso

Finnish artist Ilkka Halso digitally manipulates photographs of pristine landscapes by inserting extensive pieces of infrastructure. His recent works depicts massive constructs of man built to preserve nature, as if in a museum or theme park.  Is it pessimism or prophecy?  Only time will tell.

"My work deals with man’s ambivalent relation to nature. It is typical for human beings to mold nature, justifying their actions by their aesthetic and economic aspirations. But nature cannot endure everything. In my photographs, control over nature has acquired a concrete form. The elements of nature have been rethought and have, for logistical purposes, been packed into modules that are easier to handle. The whole of nature is stored in a gigantic warehouse complex and the most common types of nature from soil and flora to fauna can be easily assembled into working ecosystems. What is happening? Has nature been evacuated to await better times, or has it been simplified into merchandise and absurd tableaux? I am looking into the future. I don’t like what I see."

Illustration: Parallel Dimension

"Shots From a Parallel Dimension" by Tom Colbie

Photography: Erik Johansson

Impossible Photos by Swedish photographer Erik Johansen
Via: Adobe Inspire

Some photos are worth a thousand words, some are worth considerably more.  Johansen's work is a prime example.  He begins with an everyday photo of the real world, then adds in his own surreal twist with painstaking care.

Artist: Alexander Jansson

Mixed Media Artist Alexander Jansson