(I don't know why blogger is doing this bizarre effect on downloaded images...)Artist Selene dePackh, working as Prodiga diNero, shares a glimpse into the process of creating her artistically sophisticated 'comix'.
Artist's Statement
The Graphic Tales of Prodiga deNero is a cross-section of three projects I'm presently working on. The first is a Pittsburgh-set comic series, done entirely on my own, based on a character I developed for the second project, "The F-Xsis Chronicles"-a full-length graphic novel, based on a lead character and storyline created by my friend Bear Taylor. The third project, also in collaboration with Bear, is a series of concept posters being developed for possible use by the Buell division of Harley-Davidson… hardly the place one would think to look for the work of a woman who traces her artistic lineage through the Royal Academy of London Schools of Art, and who is primarily known locally for her support of the artwork of women survivors of domestic violence and for those who work in the salvage arts.
Anyone who has followed my work a bit more closely may know me also as one of the artists affiliated with Blue Ruin Gallery, and that is much closer to the work here. Among the pieces of mine on the Blue Ruin website were several noted by the curator of an Italian museum, who invited me to show them in an exhibit he was developing. "Prodiga diNero" was a lovely bit of synchronicity that was presented to me in the description of my work in the catalog of artwork for that exhibit, depicting Amazonian women. In it, I was described as "Prodiga di nero inchiostro" - "squanderer of black ink" in Microsoft's mellifluous online translator.
I am an anachronism-(literally- one who exists outside of the present "chronos"- Time)… and as such, I have been in search of a comprehensive/comprehendible identity. I am a classically trained artist who finds the most effective outlet for her talents in the medium of 'comix'-- & not necessarily those that have become a trendy outlet for semiotic musings. I am offering as elegant, refined, and yet vital expression as my depth of experience will allow of the ancient craft of tale-telling. To me, a well-presented comic offers one of the most seductive channels for experiencing what Andre Breton named 'convulsive beauty'…
And I, as an artist of the old school, think that that seduction is my job.
Anyone who has followed my work a bit more closely may know me also as one of the artists affiliated with Blue Ruin Gallery, and that is much closer to the work here. Among the pieces of mine on the Blue Ruin website were several noted by the curator of an Italian museum, who invited me to show them in an exhibit he was developing. "Prodiga diNero" was a lovely bit of synchronicity that was presented to me in the description of my work in the catalog of artwork for that exhibit, depicting Amazonian women. In it, I was described as "Prodiga di nero inchiostro" - "squanderer of black ink" in Microsoft's mellifluous online translator.
I am an anachronism-(literally- one who exists outside of the present "chronos"- Time)… and as such, I have been in search of a comprehensive/comprehendible identity. I am a classically trained artist who finds the most effective outlet for her talents in the medium of 'comix'-- & not necessarily those that have become a trendy outlet for semiotic musings. I am offering as elegant, refined, and yet vital expression as my depth of experience will allow of the ancient craft of tale-telling. To me, a well-presented comic offers one of the most seductive channels for experiencing what Andre Breton named 'convulsive beauty'…
And I, as an artist of the old school, think that that seduction is my job.
Selene dePackh
