Killer

"Killer"

by Dani Selvaggio

2009
sold

It is at last complete!

My favorite sort of media is "mixed," so when I came up with the idea for "Killer," I immediately jumped upon the approach of mixed media.

I'm hoping that this piece will be one of the stand-outs when I have a show. I'm really happy with the way it came out, though I may end up adding more to it in the future. Don't be misled by the 2-D appearance of the work: it's actually inclusive of a lot of 3-dimensional elements. For example, the astronaut in the forefront is not simply plastered to the canvas. He's actually floating about two or three inches above it. The "heart," comprised of tangled thread, is free-hanging between him and the canvas. I used recycled styrofoam as a base for the "floating" appearance (styrofoam doesn't biodegrade for a few millennia, so I try to put it to use when I can).

I'm glad I was successful in making the astronaut float so that you can still see the detail of Kali and Pele from certain angles. I want people to feel like they can approach this piece and inspect it close-up - I'm glad that you can still see the grand majority of it all.

Enjoy!

Far Fallen

"Far Fallen"

by Dani Selvaggio

2008
for sale

I am a huge fan of Italian opera and Puccini in particular. My absolute favorite opera of all time is Madame Butterfly. What is ALSO very special to me is a memory I have of going to see this opera for the first time as a treat from my father when I was about twelve years old. I was absolutely captivated by the climax where Butterfly commits seppuku and Pinkerton rushes onto the stage only seconds too late. For the number of scenes leading up to the final one, the Soprano playing Butterfly has been clutching and wringing her hands in agony. And then as she slits her wrists, she throws her hands up into the air...and, cascading to the stage come these liquid, unfurling ribbons of bright red silk. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.

I kinda hate this painting because it doesn't come anywhere even close to capturing what I saw.  Oh well.  I might take another crack at it in the future.

Cradle of Civilization

"Cradle of Civilization"
by Dani Selvaggio
2008
commission

The photo of this piece did NOT come out well (again with the digital cameras!). In order to get clear shots in my studio, I had to angle the camera against the painting in a really strange way. It resulted in either weirdly distorted photos of the image or blurry shots. *sigh*

"Cradle of Civilization" was my particpation in a 24-hour art project for an organization that was raising money to support developing communities in Kenya. It was a donation that was auctioned off.

Here's a better glimpse at some of the detail. Again, I had to take these photos quickly, but they ended up coming out very...wacky? At any rate, enjoy!