Art

I've never understood vandalism; tipping over tombstones, smashing windows, littering. Such activities aren't metal, they aren't punk, they're just ignorant.

However, Guerrilla Art is something I respect. It's a nice slice of anarchy, but in a creative way. I don't mean someone spray-painting "Cooter Wuz Hur" on the water tower. I mean creative, imaginative street art. One night it just appears, and makes a statement. These days this type of artwork is no longer limited to graffiti on rail cars or abandoned buildings. Artists are putting up elaborate art installations overnight, often as a way of attracting attention to a cause and/or their work.

Such an installation has appeared in Eau Claire in the middle of the Chippewa River. A sculpture in the form of "the Loch Ness Monster," appeared out of nowhere. Once discovered, the Department of Natural Resources declared "Chippy," as it's now being called, an illegal obstruction and wants it removed, both for environmental and safety reasons (it's in the middle of a navigable body of water).

An artist who only calls his or herself "The Phoenix" has taken credit for the art, and says it'll be removed within the next 10 days. In the meanwhile, the Eau Claire based company Menards (where you save big money) has came forward offering to buy the sculpture and put it in one of the ponds on their property. There is also talk of finding a place for it in the Eau Claire park system.

Apparently, "The Phoenix" also took responsibility for putting a large yellow-y rabbit head sculpture in the same location last year, but it washed away (if anyone has a photograph of this rabbit head, e-mail it to Wisconsin Sickness please).

"The Phoenix" obviously wants attention, and By God, I want to give it to him (or her). Anyone creating anarchistic cryptozoology installations is someone who must be heard. I'd like to interview "The Phoenix" right here on Wisconsin Sickness. The gauntlet has been thrown down. E-mail me! May Chippy survive the ages, where ever it ends up.

In November of 2011 our official mad taxidermist, Rob Reysen of Lake View Taxidermy, sculpted a new piece of art from clay, animal parts and a 250-year-old human skull for the first ever Brutal Bazaar Art & Metal show.

"Release Me" is now available for the first time. Each individual cold cast bronze sculpture is unique and hand-made.

The Process

Buy Now

To purchase, email Rob at: [email protected]

Rob specializes in quality, highly-detailed taxidermy as well as custom Halloween decorations and horror props. See more of his work here or hit him up with the details of your project.

Amber Michelle Russell's work is divided cleanly between finely detailed, hand-drawn portraits and disturbing, violent paintings. Art is her therapy, which she feels she can't live without as a constant in her life.

She seems to execute a need for control in her portraits, capturing every line with a mechanical precision while still retaining an analog, human warmth. All of her passion and emotional exorcism pours out through the chaotic strokes of paint that flow together on canvas into the macabre - vivid, intense and darkly erotic.

Amber's portrait of Vincent Castiglia (below), who paints cadaverous visions in his own blood, hangs in his personal New York studio.

The Marvelous Unspeaking Troupe of Entertaining Scoundrels, aka The M.U.T.E.S., are a performance troupe reminiscent of Vaudeville and the silent film era.

They act out comedic silent-film-esque plots complete with period music, captions, and black and white clothes and makeup as if you were watching a silent film live on set.

The M.U.T.E.S. frequently perform with the likes of the Brew City Bombshells and Dead Man's Circus.

For more check out their site: www.themutes.com

Or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Milwaukee's local Brew City Bombshells have perfected the art of classy, sassy and coy burlesque. These fun and gorgeous ladies bring tassel twirling to new levels with award-winning dancers, comedy acts, belly dancers, and a variety of other performers.

For the latest news and upcoming performances check out their facebook page: Brew City Bombshells

The Brew City Bombshells will be performing at the Wisconsin Sickness Halloween Massacre 2011!

The Milwaukee-based Rakhshanda Tribal Belly Dance group brings the ancient Middle Eastern art to new levels of beauty with a variety of styles and performances ranging from slow and elegant to fun and bawdy. Rakhshanda conjures a feeling of ethereal timelessness, a mesmerizing trance you won't experience anywhere else.

Follow Rakhshanda on Facebook Here: Rakhshanda Tribal Bellydance

For booking info check out their website www.rakhshanda.com

Rakhshanda will be performing at the Wisconsin Sickness Halloween Massacre 2011!

Matt Lombard is no stranger to the dark underbelly of his native Wisconsin, having played guitar in metal bands for years before moving into the realm of photography and digital manipulation.

His disturbing and feverish work truly fits the title of his website - In The Vein Of God - telling stories and asking the tough questions about the primal cycles of creation, destruction, and decay.

His works are very visceral snapshots through the veil into the dark side of the human experience, peering into the forgotten corners of human nature and instinct to remind us what is really in the mirror looking back.

Over the years Matt has worked with and created art for people such as Cradle of Filth, Michael Ninn, Vasily Konstantin, Cadillac Prairie Productions (Stephen King's "Dolan's Cadillac"), Attrition, Roadrunner Records, Bile, Sarah Jezebel Deva, Weston Ochse, Nocturne, Delirium Books, Army of Souls, J.F. Gonzalez, Charles Levi, Voiceprint, David Whitman, Aesma Daeva, Michael Laimo, Two Ton Anvil, Scott and Jeffrey Thomas, Catalyst Press, Brian Knight, Patrick Lestewka, and Triple XXX Records.

Though he no longer plays music, it still remains a huge influence, and he feels his art may be something of a pent-up release of the creativity and emotion he used to pour into his guitar.

Here is a selection of Matt's work, including a brand new piece called "Trinity" that has yet to be published anywhere else:

See more, order prints, and keep up on the latest nightmarish visions from Matt Lombard on his website right here: www.mattlombard.com

He has also release a book featuring 80 pages of his best work from 1998-2008 called Atonement. You can grab that right here.