Thursday, December 3, 2009

Eric Gunderson: Jesus Driving



 Eric Gunderson, a talented artist, also happens to be my uncle. I wish he and Molly would put more artwork into their Etsy shop (hint hint), although I think this piece amply demonstrates his humor and skill.

I lived next door to him growing up and would often visit and draw with him. He has the most amazing house. There is art everywhere of course, and almost everything is handmade. A light switch on one wall illuminates several pieces in unexpected ways - a cat's eyes in a photograph, the television set and lamp in a diorama of a living room. Sometimes the art moves, like his motion sensing winged clock. He sold one of my favorite pieces. At first glance it looked like a straightforward portrait of morose man in a suit. When a button in the frame was pushed, however, the flower in his lapel spurted water at the viewer.

No element or fixture is left unconsidered. A faux zebra fur love seat swings on ropes from the ceiling. Miniature golf holes are recessed in the carpeted concrete floor. The front door is lined with several doorknobs of different vintages. Plaster hands and white tree branches that also serve as cat perches are half embedded in the walls. There are tunnels between rooms, ziggurat-esque platforms, and an enclosed catnip perfumed garden for the cats as well. One of the windows is a car door built into the wall that you can roll down with the handle. His house and the woods are really the only things to see in Hogarty. Perhaps the next time I visit, he and Molly will let me take a few pictures and share them on the blog. 

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