THE BACKWATER GOSPEL

BLOODY ART

World-famous surrealist and New York City native VINCENT CASTIGLIA is pleased to announce his upcoming solo art exhibition entitled ‘Resurrection’, taking place from October 4th-31st at Sacred Gallery NYC (located at 424 Broadway 2nd Floor between Canal and Howard, NYC). The gallery will host an opening reception on October 4th from 8-11pm. This retrospective encompasses all of Vincent’s available work from the beginning of his career and aims to examine the congruency of life and death. Propelled by correlated personal experiences just this year, his deep and continually renewed understanding of the consistency between the two themes will come to prominence at this haunting and memorable exhibition.

‘Resurrection’ will include a striking collection of Vincent’s paintings, which are created exclusively in his own human blood. Vincent’s figures, their musculature and skin, are painted with what could be thought of as “liquid flesh”. Its tendency to quicken the subjects is likely inapproachable by any other medium—as it is actual tissue with which it is being rendered. In this way the subject’s realism is not merely an optical illusion due to its level of detail, but rather is an actual transference of flesh and blood to each work.

In the privacy of his studio, Vincent practices a kind of modern-day phlebotomy, siphoning the life force which contains his own psychic energy, while giving it an outlet and form. In doing so, he dissolves the barrier between artist and art in a most literal and immediate sense.

In a personal statement, Vincent states, “This exhibit is the culmination of a lifetime of searching and posing many questions through images, making declarations of truths uncovered and pouring a myriad of emotions, conflicts, and bliss’ into these coagulations which delineate all aspects of the past decade of my life.”

For more information on Sacred Gallery NYC, please visit www.sacredgallerynyc.com or contact Kevin@SacredGalleryNYC.com.

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VINCENT CASTIGLIA is the first American artist to receive a solo exhibition invitation from Oscar Award-winning artist H.R. Giger in the history of the H. R. Giger Museum Gallery. Vincent’s art has been praised by fellow artists, musicians, and other notables throughout his career.

“With such precise technique, his depiction of human musculature is nothing short of outstanding.”

– Paul Booth / World-renowned Tattooist, Artist, Gallery Owner, Fanatical Nihilist

“If the body is the temple, then the heart is the altar and the blood is the sacred flame that enlightens the shrine. Vincent is painting with holy light.” – Martin Eric Ain / Musician, Celtic Frost

“The ominous truth that his art confronts, along with the exquisiteness in which it is portrayed, provides a timeless revelation into human existence.” – Joe Sopkowics, Forensic Photographer

VINCENT CASTIGLIA’s impressive work has seen many sides of the entertainment world, as well. MTV New Media’s Horror-Slasher Film, Savage County, featured his art as its official movie poster, depicting the three murderers in the film. Prior to the film, Vincent painted album art for heavy metal band Triptykon’s 2010 debut release,Eparistera Daimones. Triptykon is founded by former Hellhammer / Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer.

His work has been featured on New York 1 News, Spike TV, as well as the television series, Miami Ink. His work has been explored by countless art and culture, and media publications, in the US and internationally, including the New York Post, New York Daily News, and the recently released, Lexikon Der Phantastischen Künstler “The international encyclopedia of fantastic, surrealistic, symbolist, & visionary artists”.

His work hangs in many distinguished international collections; one of his most celebrated works of 2006, “Gravity” was recently acquired by Rock legend Gregg Allman. Vincent’s paintings have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the US, and internationally, including CoproGallery, (Santa Monica, California), Last Rites Gallery(New York) The Museum of Sex (New York), The Museum Of Porn In Art, (Switzerland), The HR Giger Museum Gallery, (Switzerland), , The Mall Gallery (London, England) Canvas Los Angeles (Los Angeles California), Fuse Gallery (New York), Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (Ft. Myers, Florida), Art @ Large Gallery (New York)Gallery Lombardi (Austin Texas), L’imagerie Gallery (Hollywood, California), Museo De La Cuidad De Mexico, (Mexico), C-Pop Gallery (Detroit, Michigan), Shooting Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Seed Gallery (Newark, New Jersey), The 7th Annual Dirty Show (Detroit, Michigan), as well as The Congregation Gallery (Hollywood, California).

For more information on VINCENT CASTIGLIA, please visit www.vincentcastigliaart.com.

BUY ME THIS: THE HALLOWEEN TREE DVD

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Archive, 1993's animated version of The Halloween Tree (the one narrated by author Ray Bradbury) is finally seeing a DVD release. Unfortunately, because it's being released through the archive collection, the disc is considered "made to order," which means you'll be receiving a DVD-r of the film, not a typical pressed DVD. Still, it would be nice to finally get rid of the bootleg version I, ahem...acquired...several years ago.

This helpful review explains exactly what you'll be getting. Basically, full screen format, no special features, but a good looking and sounding picture.

Buy the DVD here. (For me.)

THE HORROR

This isn't horror related. Not at all. But that doesn't mean it's not horrific.

Something terrible happened to the world last night.

Are you brave enough to see the truth for yourself?

If so...click the mushroom cloud...

I AM A GHOST (2012)

I Am A Ghost is not your typical ghost movie. You should definitely know this before sitting down with it. It emphasizes the expression “slow burn,” and very little action propels the story forward. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an engaging watch, because it definitely is.

Emily is a young ghost haunting her former home. Years ago (how many exactly we’re never told) she was murdered in her room, stabbed to death on top of a carpet at the foot of her bed. A large portion of the movie is comprised of snippets of her day-to-day life. She wakes, stretches, makes breakfast, looks through drawers, gazes at photographs, and stares into the mirror as she cries out in pain, her wrapped wrist spotting blood. Occasionally she takes trips to the nearby market place. Every so often she’ll look into her bedroom and see something ghastly – enough that it sends her running down the hallway, her mop and bucket abandoned on the floor behind her. We’re not sure at first the relevance of these scenes, or why we’re seeing them repeated as often as they are. But it soon all makes sense…which worsens Emily’s post-life in unfortunate and horrifying ways.

The time period in which the story takes place is kept purposely vague, but based on the décor of the home, the photographs we see, and the lack of any electronic gadgets whatsoever (no computers, no TVs, and definitely no cell phones) intimates that this story is set in the past. Emily’s housedress is antiquated in its design, and the nearest clue we have to a time period is the old tabletop radio that she listens to while preparing her breakfast.

I Am A Ghost is a rarity in that the audience spends their entire time with a ghost. There is no cutting back and forth between her and the family that resides in that same house and wants to see her go. And there is no Sixth Sense/The Others third-act twist that let’s us discover she’s been dead the whole time. We know this pretty much from the start, especially when the disembodied voice of the very much alive Sylvia, a clairvoyant, sounds through the house and demands that Emily repeat after her: “I am a ghost…I am a ghost…I am a ghost.”

Working on behalf of the family, Sylvia wants Emily to move on, and by actively communicating with her, she is attempting to collect enough information to trigger a connection. She needs Emily to realize that not only is she dead, but there’s absolutely no reason for her to stick around. It would be best for both her and the family in the living world that she move on. A tough conflict, to be sure, but once Sylvia gets things in motion and begins to communicate with Emily more and more, a revelation rears its head that threatens to make the removal process much more complicated. This twist is often used to death in more mainstream fare, so at first it was a momentary let down in the sense of “oh, they’re going to do this now...”

But that disappointment lasts only so long, because it soon shapes the events for the remainder of the film, and in a strangely abstract way makes perfect sense. And once the physical embodiment of this twist materializes, well…look out. It’s unexpected and definitely creepy. This is when I Am A Ghost transcends the experimental character study into full-on horror.

Anna Ashida as Emily has a tough job. She spends 99% of her screen time talking to a ceiling. She has very little interaction with other beings, and no one really to bounce emotions off. It’s, for all intents, a one-woman show. It's difficult for performers to attempt an emotional connection with their audience when they have very little opportunities for character interaction and exposition, but she makes us care for her plight all the same.

What writer/director H.P. Mendoza was able to accomplish on a shoestring budget is something to awe over. While there are no immense set pieces or special effects, his ability to effectively capture on film such an unusual approach to a horror film is a thing worthy of praise. It was a "what if?" movie. And it works.

While the patches of film that contain dialogue are few, the dialogue itself is engaging, natural (despite the situation), and occasionally amusing. All of our exposition comes from the information swapped between Emily and Sylvia; along with everything we’ve observed about Emily thus far.

The film is described as being an experimental horror film, and while I suppose that’s true, I Am A Ghost remains very accessible. It might not quench the thirst of the hardcore exploitation crowd, but willing fans of Kubrick and Polanski will be highly rewarded with an oddity of a film. In keeping with the current trend, I Am A Ghost is shot to look like a 1970s low budgeter. Beyond simply an attempt to associate itself with the films of those aforementioned filmmakers, I wonder why Mendoza made this decision. Perhaps one day I'll have the opportunity to ask him.

I Am A Ghost is currently playing the festival circuit, and as far as I know, has not secured any kind of distribution, which is a shame, but one I’m confident is a temporary problem. For developments, keep an eye on the film's Facebook page, and subscribe to H.P. Mendoza's status updates.

IT'S TIME, LORD

 

Pretty much the only reason to sit through this movie: this creepy track.

SUDDENLY MILLENNIUM

MadTV was never really that funny. But man...they nailed this one.