SITO/artchive/ Nik Mick Daum /dream

Nik Mick Daum / dream
`NOTE:All files belong to Nik Mick Daum and it is illegal to use them without expressed permission from the artist. See hir Artist Page for more detailed permission and contact information.`

The Lamb Temptation (1998025) Categories: dream, fantasy, illustration, painting	(56k)Part of the Meat Series, this piece is about Tres using meat as a "platform" to corrupt humanity. Corruption in this instance has a prevailing sexual undertone (emphasized by the naked person holding up the lamb, the cow utter, and the cheap motel setting), but loss (the shepherd in outside the window), dispare (the alcohol on the table), and mystery (the abduction of the lamb in the picture behind the bed) are also present. The meat grade is a reference to a girl I know.

surreal universe (1997125) Categories: drawing, dream, fantasy, illustration	(161k)In the beginning, the surreal universe was nothing more than a simple experiment in techniques. I had been doing what I call "solid color" drawings (my term for colored pencil drawings in which colors are blended into each other and none paper is visible) for over a year (starting halfway through eighth grade). Somehow I ended up buying a set of gray colored pencils and doing solid color drawings with them. I discovered was how easy it was to get realistic gradations when only working with grays. My first test was a small drawing that resembled a Celtic rune, and with that being successful, I jumped headfirst into the Surreal Livingroom precursor (just a smaller version). My earlier pieces were small, due mostly to lack of supplies and confidence. Later, I realized that the Surreal Series had become, as Mr. Diffy would say, "a plug and chug" type of art. Once the initial concept was decided upon, all I had to do was throw ready-made surreal elements (such as the spheres, lamp, chair, etc.) into the piece. Lack of creativity was further visible when I made three "new" surreal pieces that were only larger copies of earlier tests. Feelings of inadequacy continued for two years. Changes occurred soon after with Surreal Bedroom. It was larger, more unique, and it still incorporated all of the surreal elements of my past pieces. Now the series started to express isolation, something that i had striving to express, but never could. My Junior year, Surreal Bathroom was created. That was the beginning of what i would call my "end" pieces, for I claimed that Surreal bathroom would be the last in the series. It was until the beginning of my senior year when I created Last Dream? As the title expresses, at the time i wasn't sure if it would be my last dream, my last surreal piece. I had been slowly incorporated more symbolism into my pieces, and by this time, it was reaching its climax (for notes on some of the symbolism of the last dream please go to the main surreal page). But in the back of my mind, I was dissatisfied with the piece as an end to the series. I toyed with the idea of incorporating the outdoor mono print environment (its influence can be seen in the conceptual sketches), but it never had the feel I wanted. Surreality is distortion, and while the tendril environment was distorted, it called for an exterior of a building, not a building that could both contain and be in the environment. I decided that the universe would have to be represented as a strange mix of interior and exterior. I jumped in without anymore thought, planning the piece with a white colored pencil in two hours. I was able to make definite rooms but still leave the viewer wondering if he or she is inside or out (I coin the term "ixterior"). Symbolism abounds in the Surreal Universe , a dominant theme is ancient civilizations. The structure is influenced by Byzantine, Persian, Egyptian, South American, and Sumerian architecture (Hagia Sophia, column shafts, pyramids, Mouth gate (Aztec looking), and Ziggurats (respectively). Art has become an accessible medium for me to express my views on creation. Starting with Enki's Lament (in the portfolio section), I incorporated both the universe's and mankind's creation themes. Since Surreal pieces do not allow for human narrative, I had to symbolize the gods, their structures, what they did in them, and how we were created. It was hard, and the message isn't as clear to the viewer as in the Enki piece, but it gives more meaning than ever possible before. But i have taken the surreal series as far as I can. From one lonely room, it has come to express the entire universe. There is nowhere else to go; it is the last piece, and that's a guarantee.

server news

site news : 3/2012

new server