Disgraced cultural icon and 4th level Masonic warlock, Peter van Buren drew wide acclaim in his home country for founding the Neu-Pagan movement, before disappearing from the public the eye following a series of cheese-related scandals. Until a series of high-profile court cases returned the property rights to his work to the state of New York, his work had only ever been displayed in private collections and worn to shadowy crypto-conventions, making this the first ever public display of his art. These days Peter lives the solitary of a chicken farmer in the bucolic hills of the Upper West Side, with his wife and seven children.
Untitled
Someone else found this chunk of driftwood. They must've been enamored by its beautiful shape, twists, and live edges, just as I was. I started in on it, and within a day was told, "Stop there, it looks finished." I didn't. I may have carved out its face, but the wood was already art. Even before I found the golden shine of the curly grain hidden beneath its bark. Accidentally elephantine, A little draconic. Wrinkles and folds that flow naturally from its face. An asymmetric Beast of many stern angles. A noble thing crowned by cracked Wood's sharp mantle. A mask mimicking the fluidity of a natural form.
The Speaker
A most Meticulously finished mask. With great attention to depth, and features inspired by Commedia Del Arte's timid Tartaglia. Not Felt-hatted, but sol-crowned. The speaker is the hapless and incompetent voice of the divine. Cursed to shout the incomprehensible words of a god. Heaven touched but restrained by mortal trappings. He is inspiration, desperation, and the hopeless need to be understood.
