Howdy! My name is XTIAN, I am a surrealistical artist guy from Melbournia. This be a blog of my arts, a sort of "what's new?" with regards to everything from collages to music to film. I make a lot of stuff (mostly collages though. Do you? Get in touch.) WARNING: some of this gear may be NSFW.
For more of my stuff see www.gadzooxtian.com .
Alas, it's not quite 80m long, but it's grown almost as long as Robert Pershing Wadlow was (ie: the world's tallest man). For those who don't want to scroll through the whole thing and just want to see the latest update, go here: http://www.gadzooxtian.com/infinity/2018.shtml . And by the way - when you stare into the infinite collage - it stares back into you, mooohahahahahaha!!!! (You'll see what I mean!)
True story. Back in 1999, I invented Steampunk. Complete with steam engines and Victorian gentlemen. I've got proof- read on. "But Mr.X, The Difference Engine by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson came out in 1990!", I hear you screech and rightfully so.
I didn't read that book till about... lemme think... 2005? Sounds about right. The above is the paperback edition I had. It's kinda good but kinda boring, I find Bruce Sterling has wonderful ideas (and I follow his tumblr avidly), but his writing is so dry and s-l-o-w. But back to me. In 1999, I got obsessed with the Eiffel Tower. It was in my head all the time, along with Wells' War of the Worlds. I knew these to be the greatest things ever, and the tower was the centre of the world. I started making artworks with images thereof.
This was going to be the ribcage of something bigger, but I liked it as is.
Then I discovered this song:
This song was waaaaaaay influential on my song-writing too!
Well, the deal was sealed, friends. I invented a place called EUROPEA, where gentlemen with steam engines in their backs would roam. I thought the idea of a man with a chimney in his back was the best thing ever. I was going to make a whole book about the word of Europea, but I never got there. Still, I made a few pikkies which are still around. So let's see:
For largely self-taught Photoshop in 1999, this ain't so bad. Here's more:
Sunday Afternoon Music-lovers - this became the cover for the first Fat Little Bastard album [HERE]. And then came the Paris vs. Venus series, the idea being that in 1800 A.D., we got attacked by Venus. Things got bad, but we eventually beat them on April 27f (yes, April 27f, that's not a typo). Behold:
Paris vs. Venus, 1800 A.D.
Day Fifteen
Atomic Attack
Scopophilia Holocaust
Aerial Battle No. 39
Postcard of Venus
Day Fifteen prompted a friend of mine to declare "it's the most misogynistic work I've ever seen", which lead me to make business cards that said XTIAN - Surrealist & Misogynist - "I've yet to see a monkey with nice breasts!" (a quote from another silly conversation).
Anyhoo, I started collecting old pictures and maps and so on to make more Europea with, but the project stalled and I never got back to it. Then I discovered others were doing things like this too, which made me lose interest even more. I never go to putting cogs on a hat, but I did have goggles back in 2000, and I used to rock an old Victorian coat with Freemason regalia attached.
So there it is - I invented Steampunk, a.k.a. Europea without knowing it already existed. Feels good.
Friends of me and otherwise!
I have a new collection of collages for your perusal and purchasing pleasure! Ask yourself: why pay $300 for a collage when you can have 20 for only $30? Exactly. ENJOY!
About the book: Not a "best of", not a retrospective - these are just a handful of collages made by Melbourne artist XTIAN during 2017. Taking the reader to illusory places and scenarios, these images show us snippets from stories that are questions with no answers. Or maybe they're just weird stuff.
A question we get asked a lot, so to answer all our fans we did an experiment at the last MKULTRA meeting at the Horse Bazaar. We stretched a piece of string as long as the collage is believed to be currently: 78.4m/ 256 feet. It did not go without hitches, and was a rather funny experience. AND WE FILMED IT. So behold!, an amazing real-and-true live-action documentary with Thrills! Laughs! Lens flares! And length!! Such length!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, my new Fat Little Bastard Ep: UNCOMPROMISING SOUP. Like a good bowl of soup, we have a mish-mash of ingredients that combined make a great meal. Kicking off on our palate is the doo-wop-industrial-somekindapunk "She Came from the Sky" (part 1 in fact of a soon to be published trilogy); we then continue to gargle on something that "May Contain Faeces" (really it contains some jazzyness and what may be a theremin); then take a spoon to the surreal hip-hop chunks of "Not a Rap". We finally lick the bowl clean in the company of "Horatio", a ceiling-smasher and a floor-creeper of a song.
Here's Part 3 / Grand Finale to SKELETON BIRD, the surreal wordless comic I drew at work to keep me sane.
I hope you enjoy it.
Some quick links before you start reading:
Part 1 is HERE
Part 2 is HERE
