Art TalkDeftly Enticing

Deftly Enticing

Last night in a dream, I saw myself as a ventriloquist performing in front of a passive audience. The acts were tawdry and induced the audience into an active crowd. I was shamefaced while trying to keep my nerves calm as the scathing remarks were imminent and I just wanted to sink into the stage to avoid the inevitable embarrassment. I invited ridicule by screwing up the pastiche I was trying to portray. ‘What a disgrace,’ I thought to myself, hiding my face in my palms. As I started to hear the discordant crowd, the alarm went off and put an end to my clumsy state. I reached out for it, turned it off and went about my quotidian chores.

Later that day, while I was skimming through some silly Facebook posts and insipid articles I came across Mike Boyd, a London-based tattoo artist, whose work is inspired by the eclectic and brilliant Pablo Picasso. I sniggered, as I was about to see my dream come into existence, but Mike’s work surprised me. I thought his art is going to cause a tumult of mass discontent by taking on the craft of Cubism but I was absolutely wrong and I felt good to be wrong. 

-Being wrong keeps the ‘vain me’ sane and level-headed. I reckon!!!

Inspiration and plagiarism are parted by a thin line and very often the artists fail to see the divide. Such artistic episodes are evidently distressing and controversial, not only for the artist but also for the viewers and as of late happened in Sony World Photo Awards.

Mike Boyd though seems to have found the distinct route and is mastering the craft of inspirational art. He seems to be sailing in murky waters but knows the path leading to the aesthetic niche. Mike has created an interesting flair that makes his tattoos prominent. They look delicate on the skin and the vibrant use of colours adds a defined enticement to it. His lines are meticulously sharp and every drill of his needle ends on a bold note, creating an uncompromisingly vivid design.

The excited, assertive and impulsive red, the flamboyant orange, the soothing and introspective blue and the mysterious black are quite brazenly demonstrated in his designs. The manifestations of these dazzling colours enliven his tattoos making them bold, striking, confident and exquisitely aligned.

What seems to attract me to Mike’s work is his simplicity. Cubism is a complex art form and Mike’s unruliness towards the complex side is commendable. He gives you a glimpse of the deftly enticing world of Picasso but stays modest and true to his artistic rules. Mike is a masterful craftsman; he advertently takes you to Picasso’s realm of Cubism and then stylistically lures you into his colourful and vibrant dome with his skillful techniques. This complex interplay of extrinsic and intrinsic delicacy is a salient feature of his oeuvre, which is incredibly aligned and earnestly inked to redefine Cubism.

I would now routinely indulge myself in a bad movie or get lost in a frivolous novel to give fatuous comments about it later on. You, on the other hand, should satiate yourself with the fluidity of Mark’s artistic creations, as they are no less than a pleasant bucolic scene.


Photos Credit: Mike Boyd

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Melbourne, Vic
Australia
art@streetdiaries.com.au