A Parallel Planets piece by Pepe Serapio
Parallel Planets presents November Nocturne
Grady Gordon in Truths and Terrors
Story by Jofer Serapio
Mentioned: monotype print, the monster within, and things better left unseen
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No one goes through November not expecting the world of monsters to take center stage. For the weak of heart, this month is to be avoided. Like a plague or, if you're the type who takes his time moving on, your ex. For the rest of us who relish in the tragedies and horrors this world has to offer, effortlessly gifts us, November is the perfect month to feel alive amidst all that death.
Grady Gordon is someone you should definitely check out this time of the year (if you haven't already). I'm not saying that you should only pay attention to this man's genius one month every year. All I'm saying is that his work is perfect for November: It's tailor-made to be consumed when you're up for an old-fashioned goose-bump parade on your arm. Just make sure the lights are on.
Grady's medium is monotype, a form of printmaking that is exclusive to one unique image (as subsequent reprintings, although possible, are generally considered inferior). This is an immense departure from other forms of printmaking that can mass-produce a single design with ease. The monotype process is three-part: first, ink is applied to a metal plate or any other smooth, non-absorbent surface; second, ink is selectively removed, creating an image; and third, the image created is transferred to a sheet of paper, which absorbs all of the remaining ink.
Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Grady now lives in Oakland, teaching art at San Francisco Day School. His penchant for summoning on paper creatures of myth can be attributed to his hometown, a multicultural city that is known for its strong ties to Southwestern, Russian, and Native American cultures, just to name a few.
Grady's work frequently features skulls, masks, masked skulls, skull masks, and the like, things that are inherently supernatural or at least reflect an animistic spirituality. Mythology is, after all, prominent in his art. It doesn't matter whether it's Western or Eastern (as is the case with his 2011 solo exhibit at London's Pure Evil Gallery), he finds little trouble in exposing the essence of the monster within.
In "our time together in the void," Grady crafts stories that are both familiar and haunting. Look closely and the monsters you see, disfigured and grotesque, may represent a memory of a similar event in your life. A man professing his honor through words, promises of loyalty and security, may already be bound to another master. Where good men do nothing, blind lust overcomes wisdom. Each image may at first be hard to look at, especially if nightmares aren't your thing, but when you get hooked, it will be much harder to look away.
Some things are better left unseen. But this is November, when the things that are meant to be unseen are displayed at the forefront. Your demons, your ghosts, your scary movie killers... These are what November is about. Scaring ourselves witless. Indulging in feelings of fear and despair and sadness and tragedy.
Often, the living fails to make sense of life, and some of us, the hopeful, turns their ears to death to reveal more of what they don't know, what they want to know. Imagined creatures of our own fears come to life and we embrace them, knowing at the back of our minds that we can only fear what we don't understand. Therefore, if we come to understand those that which we fear, we no longer fear them. It's a logical solution but at the same time a daunting pursuit, mostly because our fears are personal. What is scary to one, what is horrifying to someone, may just be child's play to another. What is child's play to one may be horrifying to someone else. It's our own fears, our own doubts, our worries and concerns that make us who we are. These stories are actually pretty lovely, if you look at them more closely.
Through his art, Grady reveals that there is indeed beauty in the grotesque, the horrifying, the things that go bump in the night. Where there is light, there will always be darkness, the black to white. It's this sense of duality that makes the totality of life engaging, interesting. After all, how would we know life is worth living if there is no death?
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
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| Art by Grady Gordon |
More from Grady Gordon: Website,
Instagram
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Editor's Note: This feature is also a part of our "black" theme, November Nocturne. To share your work on Parallel Planets, click here to know what we're currently looking for. You may also read more from Jofer Serapio.
