Saving Struggling Artists: Astounding Artist, Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden, the guy that did the artwork for the album cover for Jack Off Jill's "Clear Hearst, Grey Flowers" didn't stop there... Here are a few pictures of his astounding work:

First of all, the exact album cover I was referring to!

I don't know why, but so far this one is actually one of my favorites of his.

I am unsure as to rather the actual human pictured above modeled for this work as he was creating it, or if she just deiced to do a photo shoot inspired by it after it was made, or if it is purely coincidence. Still, it is neat either way! Although, the woman in the actual photograph definitely looks more womanly, where as the female in the artwork looks more like a girl rather than a woman.

Ooh... Don't even get me started on the whole swastika debate! I do realize that it is a very notorious symbol used in Nazism, but it is not exclusively a Nazi symbol and did not even originate as a Nazi symbol. Many different cultures have used the swastika symbol (even before the Nazis) including but not limited to the Celtics, the Native Americans, and the Hindus. It originated as a symbol that simply means "Good Luck," but evidently the Nazis have stolen this symbol and ruined it for all eternity. I and anyone else at "Saving Struggling Artists" (which right now it is pretty much just me and my significant other running the whole thing) do not condone, praise, or associate with anything that has to do with Nazism, but I can really enjoy a great work of art despite my personal differences with the artists. It is unclear to me rather or not this particular piece has anything to do with Nazism, so I'm not going to just assume. Also, although Hitler was a very f*cked up man that did bad things and associated with bad people, things and people (Hitler included) that I cannot find inside myself the ability to accept and forgive, you have to admit that he was a good painter (but that is a topic for a different day).