Rattus Maximus

Rattus Maximus
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood.
(Not For Sale)
www.ErikVP.com

This is the third and final painting from my Year of The Rat series. Rat and Moon and Year of The Rat were the first two.

I like watching the rats running around the subway tracks, and I always take the F-Train. The painting is dated 4706 for the Chinese New Year. There's some random poetry on the Brooklyn Rail newspaper collage below, but not related to the rat.

The title is in reference to the misconception that rats living in New York are super-sized.

I Know
There was a moment.
Out the window.

Now and again.
Turned around.
I was trying to find.
You musn't trouble yourself.

Disabled
The war on terror.
Couldn't do it's job.
Spending millions a day.
Our infrastructure crumbling.
Responsibility.

In The Pudding
You can have a vision.
A vision.
I see the proof.

The Neighborhood
If nothing else,
People should put themelves,
In a position to save themselves.

New Orleans,
A financial disadvantage.
Courtesy of the government.
Pushing and providing.

That Was Deep
This is how I think.
The greatest moral failure.
And that's how it will.

Thoughts Crossed
I am far from people.
I had foolishly imagined.

I looked at my watch.
I decided.

The next day,
At 11:10pm, in the morning,
The idea seemed ridiculous.

They Were Black
Twice in a row,
Across the blue sky.
So quickly they seemed.

A straight line,
In the late afternoon.

I waited a bit.
I opened the door.
I went out.
I shall always remember.

Dreams Of

Dreams Of
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood.
www.ErikVP.com

Dreams Of
Life is always ulgy,
On the other side.
Neither true nor real.

Sometimes when I look.
There's no wind.
What are they tilting toward?

Speak To Me of Death
The trees lived.
I am in the sun, living.

Gaze at my smile.
Whenever I smile.
It was the end of everything.

This started off as happy, bright-colored painting. I looked through the newspaper collage and created the two poems above. You can see parts of both poems in the photo below. "Dreams Of" is by the pink house. "Speak To Me of Death" is vertical across the top of the painting and wraps around the edge. The first phrase, "The trees lived." was partially painted over with the black M&M tree.

Both poems have a darker feel and I didn't think they fit the painting at all. I kept thinking about a dream I had many years ago where I died in my dream. I revised the painting, replacing much of the color with black and white, and also some detail behind the black giraffe. I really like how the poems ended up influencing the artwork. This is another example of what comes out of the experimentation process, and will get incorporated into future artwork.

Ice Fishing

Ice Fishing
2008 - 11"x12', Mixed media on wood.
(Sold)
www.ErikVP.com

Polar bear and pengiun are ice fishing, but feeling dazed and confused by the changes going on around them. The glaciers are melting. The cold winters are no more. Strange new animals are moving into the neighborhood. A capybara from South America. A lizard in an igloo. Most disturbing of all is the dinner they are fishing for. What's this, a fish with legs? How they miss the good old days.

If you have been following my previous experimental artwork, you know I am playing around with abstract poetry. I use the Brooklyn Rail newspaper as collage. I underline words and phrases that catch my attention, and create a poem. The title is a circled word or phrase. I was reading through the random bits of text and found a poem that fit well with the artwork. The poem is to the right of the penguin. The poem is open to interpretation, especially since I didn't actually "write" it, but I've included my comments below if interested.

They Are Not Used?
The extent of the country,
Of land planted.
Radical anti-pollution factories.
Morning before long,
The horizon is black.

Most of the world is made of industrialized countries where land is covered by man-made things. Global warming is a fact, it's just a question of how much time we have left. Extreme measures will be necessary to prevent further damage. It may already be too late. The title, is in reference to the animals and nature scenes you see in the oil company ads and commercials.