DAVE COOPER

I wanted to make the violence beautiful in order to heighten our revulsion. – Edward Hall

We had a very quiet Sunday today, going out for a short drive in the morning and then passing by a Sunday Market on the way back home. The weather has been very changeable, but warm. Certainly the last throes of a Summer, which has been mild this year. The days continue to shorten and the sun is losing its fierceness. Autumnal days of warm contentment.

For Art Sunday today (upon the suggestion of a friend), I am featuring Dave Cooper. This is an American cartoonist, illustrator and artist, born in Brooklyn NY in 1967. He presently resides in Ottawa, Canada, and is presently mostly working on fine art, to the dismay of his comics fans. Cooper first came to the public eye in his teens when his sci-fi comics were published in Barry Blair’s Aircel Comics. Blair mentored the young Cooper and although there were never any accusations of molestation, Cooper has described their relationship as “inappropriate”. Cooper spent several years in a band and then returned to comics in his 20s, producing disturbing and strangely erotic work.

Increasingly, Cooper spent more time concentrating on paintings, which have a popular art appeal and are often inspired by the images, colour and clean lines of the comics he initially drew. The images of his art are often grossly misshapen and gaudily disturbing. The erotic mingles with the repulsive and the amusing with the disconcerting. In any case, whether one likes his art or not, his imagery is hard to ignore and will certainly raise an intense emotional response – as should all art.

Readers who wish to find out more about this artist are directed to the Wikipedia article and Cooper’s own personal website 1 and website 2.