Phantom of the Rear View Mirror

After a series of photos were taken of Courtney Love emerging from a dark limousine, tabloids and bloggers were quick to point out her ghostly appearance. The always upbeat Daily Mail claimed frightened onlookers "drew gasps" over her ghoulish "deathly pale skin" and painfully thin frame. Commentary across the gossip blogs were nearly unanimous in deriding Courtney for her "bride of Frankenstein" pallor and "crack addict" body. While the photographs do indeed suggest that Courtney might do well to put a little meat on her bones, I found them to be stunningly gorgeous. Courtney's alabaster skin appears to glow against the inky darkness that surrounds her almost as though she's her own light source. The ragged, see-thru lace gown suggests an elegant faded glory even though it looks like something yanked down off grandma's curtain rod. The eye can't help to be drawn to the saturated crimson red of her cartoon lips as they provide the only spot of color in the photograph. Bravo to the photographer who captured the essence of Courtney Love's erratic personality. I know many won't agree with me here, but I'd much rather see a real and slightly crazy human being in a see-thru dress than a bunch of vapid wooden-posed air-heads with see-thru personalities. Medium: Gouache, acrylic, iridescent glitter on paper with a touch of photoshop. Painted as a gift for my friend Chrissa.

Comments

[javelin]

yes! thank you, 14. I stared at the pictures for so long, and found them to be hauntingly beautiful. Courtney appears fragile, bold, human, spirit ... I love it.

[jay b]

"I'm STILL big; it's the RECORDS that have gotten small.
"See? They're little shiny plastic things now, about three inches across, and they don't have those scratchy lines spinning around them like they used to, just rainbows-pretty, pretty rainbows! And a big hole in the center..."

[Cynic]

You know, if she had a tan and this season's fashions, we would be watching "Courtney's Summer Slimdown Secrets!" on EXTRA.

[glenn maguire]

urgent message for Miss Haversham!

[Mme. Meow]

Only an artist's eye would focus on why this is a lovely photograph. Beautifully explained.

[mellen]

That link/photo of her when she looked healthy. Woah. WTF happened? These celebs. I think about the "old days" actresses, that were of healthy weight, stayed out of the spotlight (even when scandals occurred). Sheesh. Ahhhh the old days.

[Demon Kitty]

To add, man, we live in a society in which we must tow the line until our heads implode.

That was the most brilliant thing ever Midevil! That is too fucking true.

Sometimes I feel like there are a bunch of well known assholes sitting on toilets at the end of my line.

[scungilli]

so sorry you're burning out on the trash. so understandable. life gave you noise and funk, entropy and tragedy and you made it gossamer ... thanks, get some rest, looking forward in 14-time to your new work ...

[Thorne Smith]

14,

You keep getting better and better. Practice makes perfect. You've capured the essence of Courtney: Pasty white, with an eerie, ghoulish, drug-fueled glow. I can almost smell the old-lady-lilac perfume!

TS

[Ama]

I agree.

As much as I hate to say it, sometimes the paps take some really beautiful pictures. The last set of good old crazy Court's were actually very nice, at least from an artistic point of view. Creepy, but the pap has some obvious talent.

Beautiful as always, 14!

[Viper Tetsu]

Leave it to you to see sympathy and spectral beauty in this woman's disintegration, in a non-exploitive way. This really is sublime.

Keep the crazy coming in whatever manifestation suits you, dude. My surreal whimsy count is way too low today for me to summon up anything more, um, surreal or whimsical than that.

[Adam Smith]

Schrodinger's Koala Wrote:

If you think Gallery of the Absurd is too "crazy", you will HATE HATE HATE my new blog I'm about to launch. Don't even visit it! You have been warned!

Will it feature that Nineteenth Century Cockney street urchin that remains ever present in the periphery of my vision,occasionally whispering the lyrics to NWA's "Fuck The Police" in my ear.

He's fucking great.

His best bit is when he starts with the opening line:

"Fuck the police comin straight from the underground
A young nigga got it bad cause I'm brown
And not the other color so police think
they have the authority to kill a minority"
,with his quavering tiny little Oliver Twist/Eliza Doolittle voice.

That bad boy rocks it like a Mother-Bitch on Funk Steroids.

I know you see him as well.

DON'T LIE!

[midevil]

Ditto on Sparky and Demon Kitty.

To add, man, we live in a society in which we must tow the line until our heads implode.

[cornwall wallcorn]

Oh Debutante, the only thing I'm "tripping" on is how LAME and mind numbingly boring celebrity gossip has become lately. Maybe it's just me, but Hulk "look at my mustache" Hogan, Heidi "look at my boobs" Montag and Kim "look at my butt" Kardashian just don't seem to spark any creativity in my brain. Maybe I'm burned out. Maybe not. Who knows?

This entire blog has been devoted to illustrating the stories people tell when they talk about celebrities, but lately, those stories haven't inspired me and quite frankly, with the exception of a few gems, most all celebrity gossip blogs seem to run together into one big desperate puddle of sludge.

Thing is, I have been getting out more (note the lack of regular postings). And you know what? That's why my paintings have become more "trippy". I take it as a compliment, so thank you dear.

If you think Gallery of the Absurd is too "crazy", you will HATE HATE HATE my new blog I'm about to launch. Don't even visit it! You have been warned!

Thanks for commenting!

xoxo
14

[Tom]

Courtney frightens me because I am sure that she is on drugs. No one can get that pale and skinny unless they have been locked in a cavern for 1,000 years or shoot heroin at night and sleep by day. You watch her because you can't take your eyes off the impending crash.

[Debutante]

Fourteen, Um, no offense, usually love your stuff. But, uh, lately?? What's with the crazy ? Are you tripping ? Just asking. Keep doing your thing and all, but ..maybe you need to get out a bit more. Get out of your head a little. Um, just a thought. OK Thanks !

[Pamela]

All satire aside, I think this is an extraordinary piece of art, 14.

[Jenn F.]

Your art is so much nicer to look at than the original photographs. But I can see what you mean... once you get past the skeletal frame, there's an interesting image there. And both Demon Kitty and snapnhiss are right... she's certainly not boring, and at least she's wearing panties!

[Knox Bronson]

i like the drawing. the actual photo really creeped me out.

but it is rather sad that the only "interesting" stars we have any more are the ones who are really self-destructing.

i think it's because most mainstream stars are so vapid (in both music and movies) because of the huge money involved in making films and promoting pop stars ... so we mostly get very safe pretty faces and then the winehouses/dohertys/loves of the world, which plays right into our tragic artist mythos ...

it's all very boring, i am afraid. but i still love your work, 14. and i can't wait for the new art site you are working on!

[Demon Kitty]

You have to give Courtney credit for not being boring. I love the pic 14. I love her mouth in the rear view mirror and how you appear to be emphasizing its mammoth proportions.

[Psychochick]

Did you use real glow in the dark paint for it? That would be cool for at night. Scary.

[Vern]

Image evokes an
inner demon, surpassing
your Robert Goulet.

[snapnhiss]

My latent eccentricity must be emerging in my old age, but I really like the dress. It'd be much prettier with some silky underthings so her granny panties don't show, but at least she's WEARING undies.

Great artwork, as usual. You captured her desperation perfectly.

[Sparky]

Quote:
I know many won't agree with me here, but I'd much rather see a real and slightly crazy human being in a see-thru dress than a bunch of vapid wooden-posed air-heads with see-thru personalities.
End Qutoe:

Actually, I do agree with you, 14. I like to think that the 'slight crazy' person in our culture is the eccentric individual in England, for instance, and they're so much better than we are at accepting the 'slightly out of normal'. Here most of us have to hide it to fit in because we can't afford to not do so. :-)

Still, I really hate to see a person hurting themselves.

Great art, 14. I love your work.

[lucy]

I love how you made her glow! And the detail on her lace dress is so lovely!
BUT
That girl is friggin crazy and really sad looking. I can't believe how skinny she got. It's scary...not as scary as the link to that Heidi and Spencer Cheesiest Moments...but scary.

Coutney Love is a white camellia of extremes!