3d illusion arts: Oddity Central

Oddity Central

New York artist Paints with His Own Blood
Ultimate Slobs? Japanese Women Wear Diapers to Avoid Going to the Toilet
Mark Powell’s Hellish Dioramas Will Freak You Out

New York artist Paints with His Own Blood

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 03:41 AM PDT

In order to better “dissolve the barrier between art and artist”, New York-based artist Vincent Castiglia uses his own blood as a medium for his disturbing paintings. Throughout his artistic career, he has used around 12 pints of blood. ”My work is literally a blood sacrifice on the altar of art,”the painter says.

While many artists claim a lot of sweat, blood and tears go into their art, Vince Castiglia is serious about the blood part. During the last 10 years, the painter from Hell’s Kitchen, New York, has been using his own blood as material for his art. In a recent interview, Castiglia said he was first inspired to use the bizarre art medium by a need to connect to his work “on the most intimate level.” It just so happens that human blood contains iron oxide, a pigment found in many traditional paints, as well as in iron ore and common rust. The 30-year-old begins his artistic process by drawing pen or graphite sketches on a white canvas, before proceeding to extract the “paint”, in the privacy of his own studio. Then he dilutes the blood and uses paintbrushes to create creepy reddish characters with twisted limbs, or in different stages of decay.

Throughout his decade-long career as a blood painter, Vincent Castiglia has had mostly positive reactions from art lovers, but he admits there are a few who consider his technique gimmicky. ”My response would be to really take a look at the content of the work, which overshadows what it’s made from, I think,” he said. “In order for something to be a gimmick, it really would have to lack substance.”

Larger blood paintings can take several months to complete, and his works range in price from $950 to $26,000. Castiglia’s art has been exhibited mostly in America and Europe, but they have also been used as album covers for Swiss heavy metal band Triptykon’s debut “Eparistera Daimones”, and as a poster for 2010′s horror slasher, “Savage County”.

Photos © Vincent Castiglia via Facebook

Source: ABC-CBS

New York artist Paints with His Own Blood was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Ultimate Slobs? Japanese Women Wear Diapers to Avoid Going to the Toilet

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 02:22 AM PDT

Weird as it may seem, there are people out there who would rather wear an uncomfortable diaper all day long than go to the bathroom. Japanese media reports adult diapers are increasingly popular among Japanese women who say wearing them saves them a lot of time.

In an article titled “The Ultimate Form of Slob“, Japanese magazine SPA describes the hottest trend in the Land of the Rising Sun. No, it’s not the brainwave-operated tail for humans, that’s still just a prototype, but something way more disturbing. The masculinization of women has become a very popular topic in Japan, as statistics say more and more females don’t clean their rooms as often as they used to, leave their underwear all over the place and don’t even bother to remove unwanted bodily hair, but one magazine seems to have identified the ultimate slobs – women who wear diapers to avoid using the toilet. They even interviewed one such girl, 25-year-old Kaori Adachi (pseudonym), who works in a Tokyo real-estate agency. For the last six months she has been wearing diapers to work almost every day, instead of using sanitary tissues after using the restroom. And she doesn’t mean panty liners to prevent leakage, but actual diapers that absorb all the urine, and save her the trouble of going to the bathroom.

Photo: SPA Magazine

I knew Japanese were workaholics but this is taking it a bit too far. Adachi says she can now pee normally while she’s working, without having to stop and go to the restroom. She does point out that she only wears them when she’s dressed in a skirt, because pants make it obvious there’s something not quite right down there, and she never wears them when she’s meeting her boyfriend.

Photo: SPA Magazine

One photo posted by SPA Magazine shows some shops have even started placing adult diapers in the women’s hygiene section. Believe it or not, Japan even has an adult site called Bebigyaru, where men can look at photos of women wearing diapers…

Ultimate Slobs? Japanese Women Wear Diapers to Avoid Going to the Toilet was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Mark Powell’s Hellish Dioramas Will Freak You Out

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 01:25 AM PDT

Looking at his nightmarish dioramas, you’d think Melbourne-based artist Mark Powell has been to hell and back. Bizarre, sinister and disgusting are just some of the words usually used to describe his art, but that’s most likely the reactions he was going for when he created these scenes.

Powell’s creepy dioramas are populated with monstrous characters going about their business, eating, dissecting things and even playing music in dark and disturbing basements. They remind me a little of scenes from Pan’s Labyrinth, only they’re way more troubling. The Australian artist models every one of his gory dioramas from silicone, which gives all the veiny monsters and pieces of flesh a disturbing organic look. Even though they might kill your appetite, you have to admit the level of detail in these bizarre artworks is pretty impressive. If you’ve ever imagined what hell might look like, I think Mark Powell’s masterpieces will give you a pretty good idea.