Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore
I cheated you out of art on Friday so today I take the first step towards making that up to you. This weekend we attended Kansas City’s 75th annual Plaza Art Fair. This is always an enjoyable and inspiring fair and this weekend’s was not a disappointment. In addition to the most perfect weather imaginable for an outdoor fair, there was a great deal of art to tempt the eye. I will share some of these throughout the next week, or weeks. Today I bring you the art of Mark Orr.
Mary and I both were instantly enamored with the hand-carved work of Mark Orr. Everything about these pieces appealed to our sensibilities. The colors, the use of found objects, the elements incorporated into each piece…all were things that both speak to us and can be found in our home right now.
The most obvious iconic image in Mark Orr’s work is the raven. Ravens and crows adorn most of his pieces. Personally I have been fascinated by the raven from the time I first discovered Edgar Allan Poe. That fascination grew even stronger with the discovery of Neil Gaiman and the Sandman graphic novels as the character of Matthew, a man who became a raven when he died, remains one of my favorite characters in the series. And because of the gothic associations that ravens and crows evoke they continue to be of interest to me.
Mark Orr is one of a class of artists whose work I really admire. He is an artist who works with found objects. This genre of art is one I gravitate to, especially at the Plaza Art Fair. He uses old keys, clocks, vintage stairway balusters, croquet balls, bowling pins, billiard balls, old shutters in combination with hand carved pieces to create whimsical works that speak of time and fate and destiny.
I love the symbolism of antique keys. They not only speak of opening doors but go deeper in representing mysteries and secrets….hidden passageways, locked treasure chests, doors leading to who knows where. We have several antique keys adorning different areas of our house, some easily observed, others hidden simply for the fun of it. That element of Mark’s work was very appealing.
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Working hand in hand with the imagery of keys is that of locks and of doors. I like how, in the above picture, the box lid looks very much like a door. The presence of the raven adds to the mystery and rouses the curiousity as to what is inside. You can see an example of what Mark Orr has inside this particular box here.
I like the way that the dice and billiard balls and bowling pins represent not only games that have a very nostalgic tie to my childhood but also represent fate and chance. Again there is a great deal of symbolism there that is very fascinating.
The element of time and its various meanings is also symbolic in Mark Orr’s work. While some of his ravens hold keys, others hold small watches.
I encourage you to visit Mark’s site to learn more about him, his inspirations and ideas, and to observe many more examples of his wonderful work, much of which is for sale. While there read about how he began working with these elements in the first place and also read the About the Raven section which not only speaks of the mythology of the raven but also some of the specific symbolism that Mark Orr sees in his pieces.
I look forward to bringing you more discoveries from the Plaza Art Fair. Until then, ponder the raven and beware of any late night knocking on your door.
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!
~Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
Ooh…the clocks. Love the clocks.
Everything’s nice (although I’m not a fan of the bowling pin legs on the shelves…), but I love the clocks.
Glad you got all switched to a new server and all seemed to go well!
I was going to say the same thing. I love the shelves, but the bowling pins would come off. I think they would make great shelves in my kitchen for cookbooks and old pyrex bowls and percolators. I e-mailed my sister a link. She loves refinishing old furniture and she does a great job. She has started doing it for hire. I think she has the know how and creative talent to make stuff like that. I know it’s obviously much harder than it looks and this artist did a great job.
I like how he manges to both keep things simple, and show attention to detail. I’m actually not troubled by the bowling pin legs on the shelves.
great post Carl. I’m a huge fan of crows and ravens, so I really enjoyed today’s art
Wow, Carl,I love the crow and heart pieces!! The book shelf is neat also! I like the street sign on the top and the shutters on the sides!! I would probably have to have some of this art work if I could get my hands on it!!
The prices of some of the smaller pieces are very reasonable and yet we still couldn’t justify spending any money on them yesterday. Maybe next year.
I like the bowling pin legs as well. It wouldn’t fit in with every decor obviously but I like the eclectic look of it.
That’s cool that your sis is doing that Jules. You definitely need to get her on the task of making some stuff for you! (After your hubby does a redo on your kitchen of course!) 😉
Thanks Fence…where’s my weekly list by the way?
Nice! Love the ravens 🙂 Always felt I was part raven cause I’m drawn to shiny things 🙂
I appreciate the ingenuity behind the bowling pins. They just aren’t me.
As for my kitchen, I am afraid I am on my own there. James is going to replace the countertop though. I picked out a pretty black marble looking laminate. I just dread painting cabinets.
Beth took that old antique blue cabinet in my garage and stripped it and replaced some parts and stained it black. It’s a really nice piece in her dining room now.
That’s cool. It shouldn’t take too terribly long to paint your cabinets. With the new countertops it will probably make a world of difference.
These are very lovely and strange indeed (I thorougly approve, as a fan of Poe, and thoughtful ravens, and boxes. I have far too many boxes. By now, their contents come as a surprise even to me, and I put the things in there in the first place). I’m rather tempted to try to make something similar with an owl.
Thanks for stopping by Square One – I’m glad I had an interesting link up rather than the usual waffle about exercise… I’ve lurked here before (via the link from Slaughterhouse, and Quixotic) but have never commented before. I will be back, more frequently….
Glad to have you K, come by anytime! And if you do anything with the owls you need to come back and let me know so I can check them out.
The Art Fair was great! Mark Orr was my favorite artist there; although, there were many good ones. I do love the Ravens!
Those are great!! Dare I go look and find out how much they cost??
Some are really pretty reasonable, especially for one of a kind, hand made art.
I love The Raven. It’s a must read for me every Halloween 🙂 And, thank you for those pics. I love the pieces. Reminds me of a lot of assemblage (sp?) work. I like the idea of objects found being made into art.
Me too. I also love the old Vincent Price/Peter Lorre movie The Raven which has almost nothing to do with the poem but is a very fun scary movie just the same.