In the nude.

I’m just going to let that marinate for a bit while the thought of my naked body pokes you in your mind’s eye.

The artist is Tasha Goldblum, and you can see an example of her work here.

Check out the article at the NYTimes.com… And you can check out the official website here.

What intrigued me most about this story was the way the creators (Siku and Akin) portray Jesus in their graphic novel, and we’re not talking about the “8 lbs. 6 oz. baby Jesus” worshipped by Ricky Bobby in “Talladega Nights.”

MIKE:One of the things that I’m interested in is the whole style that you’ve designed for it.
In cartoon world there’s goodies and there’s baddies isn’t there? There are certain stylistic
ways in which you portray them. How have those things come into what you’ve done? Because you were talking about humanising Jesus but good guys in cartoons tend to be slightly larger than life don’t they?

SIKU: Yes. Where I come from in comic books it’s really dark science-fiction. Dark and gritty, that’s my background. I can’t escape that. I enjoy reading stuff like that so I don’t see Jesus
as Bambi basically. It’s one of the reasons why in Manga, the style I’ve chosen isn’t the Bambi, big-eyed,glassy-type Manga. It’s kind of more serious; more Anime.

Jesus is not cuddly in this Manga book. In the desert he’s actually more terrifying than Satan. He’s hooded.His face is shaded. The Devil is more vanilla-flavoured looking. Very, very plain.

And Jesus is more imposing. I’ve deliberately made him more imposing throughout the story. In many parts he’s just shaded out. When he’s in dispute with the Pharisees he’s shaded out.

He’s more imposing than anyone else, and is darker. He’s creepier.

I don’t see God as just a shining light thing. I also see him as a dark, brooding force. I’ve tried to inject that into how I see Jesus.

MIKE: Is that in Scripture or is that you imposing your own view on what’s there in the Bible?

SIKU: I think he is like that. I think there are dark aspects to God. Certain things are dark.
Certain things we can’t explain. Certain things seem brutal. The way,for example,he allows evil to carry on. Why don’t you just stop it God? But he doesn’t. And I think that’s dark. I can’t explain it and I don’t think anyone can. So I don’t think that’s just me.

Having said that, we all look at Scripture, in a way, through tinted glasses. This is my tinted
glass. I don’t see Jesus as rosy. I don’t see Jesus as sweet, kind, baby-soft Bambi thing. I see him as making a very shrewd decision to die for humanity. Knowing exactly what the price was. What he had to pay. Having made that decision and coming down and paying the price, even with everyone else not really understanding what he was doing, still having to go on and take it. Going into the garden and praying and saying to God, ‘If it is possible, let this thing pass. Having said that, your will be done.’ I think those are dark moments.

So I’m not quite sure that seeing that dark aspect is not compatible with Scripture. I’m not too sure about that. I think it is. I think over-emphasising the sweet parts is the problem. I think sometimes having someone just come in and balance out the dark side, the dark aspects, I think that works.

MIKE: Do you think part of that dark aspect will appeal to people who are into comic books
though because quite a lot of comic-book culture has that darkness in it doesn’t it?

SIKU: I tell you what. This is where I come from. The people who read my stuff are very used to reading stuff like that. And I think when they read stuff like this they’ll understand perfectly what I’ve done and why I’ve done what I’ve done. Making someone dark doesn’t mean the person is bad. It simply means that person is imposing; has an imposing presence.

I think they’ll understand my visual language. Maybe people from the more conservative wing may not understand why I’ve put Jesus Christ in the shade. Why does he pose on a mountain? Or when he’s walking on the street, why does he walk with his shoulders broad?

I don’t think people like that would understand.

MIKE: But that’s a hero’s pose isn’t it?

SIKU: It is a hero’s pose. At the same time it’s not typical American. Because American’s also have a way of doing things and arranging and composing their pages. It’s not that either.It’s
actually rather British,or quite 2000 AD,I’ll put it that way.

I’ll give you a very quick example: the adulteress who was to be stoned by the religious fanatics. They’ve come to Jesus and they say,‘What do you think teacher?’

MIKE: Oh yeah. And there’s all that empty… well not empty, but he’s waiting. You’ve really
kind of spread that out haven’t you?

SIKU: Yes. He’s waiting. And then I have it in black, where you see the grin. The grin is actually a wicked grin. It’s not a kind grin. It’s a wicked grin. And he asks them, ‘Who has not sinned? You? You stone her first.’ And the grin I’ve put there is a malicious grin. That’s one of the dark things I was talking about. Anyone who’s familiar with comic book language will know exactly why I’ve done what I’ve done.

MIKE: Why have you done what you’ve done?

SIKU: Like I say,it was a wicked grin and he knew exactly what he was going to do.

Of course, you may feel inclined to play the game… which you can do at the official Tetris site.

…or this take on Space Invaders:

Click here to play the Space Invaders and get some more background it.

…or even this take on the classic, Pong:

For an interesting tangent, read the real story behind Pong…

Now, if you look at the three videos posted to this point, you’ll notice that it’s the same performance artists. But check out this effort by the Cal State Marching Band:

Obviously, videogames have reached the point where — like movies — they can evoke nostalgia and warm fuzzies from people who grew up enjoying them. Makes you wonder how long it will be before we see someone “perform” Halo, eh?

We’re going to need a LOT of pixels (people) to do this game justice.

My computers don’t have any specific religious affiliation, unlike their owner/operator…

That said, I think that the source of the amazing backgrounds I would use was lost in a horrible “Forgot-to-bookmark-it-and-lost-the-URL” incident, and I found myself wondering (this weekend) — Where did I used to to get those fabulous backdrops?

The answer? Mandolux.

Some of my recent favorites? Try Bio-Bear, Adrenochrome v2, Three, and Vasectomy.

Oh, and let’s not forget the one in the picture above… Buddha.

Later, I vowed to correct that error. So during my trip to New York City for New Year’s, I made a point to visit Tasha in her home studio and I wound up with a beautiful canvas and two of her “Portraits of Your Girlfriends” works she does using wood blocks.

Yep, I had to put them in the Orange Den of Iniquity. I’ll probably relocate the wood work, but the canvas seems happy where it is…

Tasha is a really cool, down-to-earth person, and I find that she’s proof positive that while one can admire art in a vacuum, it’s really something special when you have a chance to be in the presence of the artist and talk to them about their work and learn about what went into the process. It adds flavor and spice to my thinking when I have a chance to consider the artist alongside their work.

Anyways, Karen and I wound up eating at a Thai restaurant near her office, where I got this really cool photo of her:

A really good artsy shot of Karen. And no, she’s not my girlfriend. That part comes later in the story…

So as we’re leaving the restaurant, I see NAKED WOMEN. To be more precise, I saw paintings of naked women. On wood blocks. And these weren’t generic “pictures”, but images of women that exuded sex and sensuality.

In any event, Karen doesn’t seem to notice the paintings until I point it out to her… Probably because she’s capable of seeing a naked woman whenever she undresses. I, on the other hand, am a complete perv. So of course, I homed in on paintings of naked women on colored wood blocks like a heat-seeking missile.

This is a picture of Tasha Goldblum, the artist. And no, she’s not my girlfriend either…

Now, I’ve had some interesting exchanges with random people in New York before, but I had to talk to the artist a bit… She was a bit reticent about being interviewed “on camera”, so I asked her a few questions and gleaned some interesting nuggets about her and her work.

Suffice it to say, the wood is an inexpensive medium for her to work with, since she can get all the raw material she needs from her father. The images come from friends and acquaintances who have posed for her. A few were inspired by people she’s seen in magazines, but no “real” celebrities.