Thought provoking diorama.

[Spevna]

MAY OFFEND


http://www.coolminiornot.com/266249



This has caused a bit of debate on CMON.

It is obviously well painted. But what do you guys make of the theme? Suitable for a hobby where the majority are so young?

[Admiral-Badruck]

I am going to say inappropriate... a bit on the crass side really... I have two daughters. who love the game..wife is really supportive and I am sure that none of them would be very happy with this work... not very happy to see such a thing in the hobby

that said the facial expression work on the IG is very well done they look evil...

[me_in_japan]

hmmn.

Honestly, I dont think that its inappropriate. It is, in all honesty, the most shocking miniature I've ever seen. However, I don't think that that is automatically a bad thing. It certainly makes the Wet-Nurse look like a childish attempt at shock-porn. I think the two pieces will engender a similar debate, but the difference is that this creates emotion not from what is explicitly depicted, but from what the piece implies, both in terms of the events in the diorama and about the painting hobby in general. To me, that makes a huge difference.

By dint of its subject matter it distances itself from miniature painting as a game-related hobby and puts it into the realm of artistic medium. I'm not suggesting that 'art' requires a shocking or unpleasant subject, but as several posters on CMON have pointed out we regularly paint extremely grotesque scenes without batting an eyelid. We have all, at some point, painted some poor bugger's intestines. This didnt bother us one jot. Why not? This diorama makes us reconsider how we look at the painting hobby. We take the violence of 40k for granted. We allow the "fantasy" nature of the setting to distance ourselves from what it would 'really' be like in the 41st millenium. That's fine. 40k is, after all, only a game. But does that mean that everything depicted using miniatures should be "gamey"?

I dont think so.

This miniature affects the viewer on several levels. There's the immediate, visceral one "holy crap! Am I really seeing an Imperial Guard rape diorama?!? How shocking and surprising!"(and, frankly, unwelcome.)

You can stop there if you like. I suspect most will. Most of us paint because we're gamers. We game because we enjoy a bit of escapism. Speaking personally, I don't like grim reality in my escapism, thank you very much. It's my fantasy world in my head, and I'll run it how I want. Damzels in distress are always rescued at the last minute in MiJ's 41st millenium.

However, if you stop and consider the diorama as a purely artistic piece, and let go of the 40k game related elements, it becomes much more interesting.

There's the obvious war-is-bad theme. In the real world, bad stuff happens, and quite often it's perpetrated by the supposed "good guys." It doesnt get grim-darker than this. As gamers we have a close connection to the boys of the Imperial Guard. It brings the unpleasant realities of war a wee bit closer to home.

But to be honest, what I really like about this piece is what it says about our hobby. Yes, this diorama freaks me out a good deal, but it also makes me ask myself 'why am I freaked out?' It made me question how I view gaming/painting in general, and 40k in particular.

I think this is the first miniature I've seen that I could genuinely look at and say "this is art." It raises questions about our hobby, how we see it, and where it can go. It has a moral point (or at least questions the morality of war). It is also, unquestionably, extremely well painted. The composition is superb. The technique is impeccable. The expressions on the faces of the IG in particular are incredibly evocative. The artist who sculpted this piece (because it certainly involved a lot of sculpting) is really, really good. He clearly was not going for a quick shock here. The details and level of painting make it clear that this artist had a serious message to convey, and was willing to put in the hours required to do it right.

Was it wrong of him to use miniatures to convey his message? No, I dont think it was. I think the medium itself adds a great deal to this piece, almost defines it, in fact. So, all in all, although I find the subject matter distasteful in the extreme, I have to say I consider this diorama one of the best I've ever seen.

[Spevna]

Well that's the thing. It isn't anything that we would want our wives or daughters to see. But at the same time he isn't glorifying it or making light of it either. The guardsmen do have looks of real evil on their faces.

I suppose we need to consider whether or not this hobby is an actual art form. If it is then we have to accept that some people may want to make statements. But you also need to factor in the age of those involved.

I think it is a powerful peice and does address real worl issues via the medium of 40K. But I wouldn't be impressed if I saw it on display in my local hobby store.

[The Other Dave]

Yeeeah...

I mean, I'm not going to vilify the guy for making the diorama or say he shouldn't have made it or anything, and it's obviously technically really well executed. It would never occur to me to make such a thing myself, though, and I'd be a bit weirded out if someone I know made something like it and brought it to Joshin to show off. Is it art? Sure, why not? Does it being art give the subject matter a pass? Not really. I don't care to look at paintings of rape either.

(Personally, I'm just imagining there are warp spiders lurking nearby or something.)

[Spevna]

Yeeeah...

I mean, I'm not going to vilify the guy for making the diorama or say he shouldn't have made it or anything, and it's obviously technically really well executed. It would never occur to me to make such a thing myself, though, and I'd be a bit weirded out if someone I know made something like it and brought it to Joshin to show off. Is it art? Sure, why not? Does it being art give the subject matter a pass? Not really. I don't care to look at paintings of rape either.

(Personally, I'm just imagining there are warp spiders lurking nearby or something.)

And I think that is a big part of it. There is a certain tension there. We are all rooting for an exarch to rock up and castrate the lot of them.

It isn't a matter of whether you care to look at them. It is a matter of whether or not the piece makes you think. Seeing a charcoal piece of a black man hanging from a tree after a lynching is disturbing but will open peoples eyes to what are real world problems.

I think the bigger question is whether or not our hobby is the place for such statements.

[Primarch]

I saw this on 4chan a week or so ago and even on there (a board reknowned for the callousness and bitterness of it's user base) it sparked some debate.
From a painting/modelling point of view, there was obviously an incredible amount of work went into that piece. The faces and expressions are well done and the colours blended seamlessly.
Is it art? I dunno. Is cutting a sheep in half and putting it in formaldehyde art? It is in poor taste and as ToD says, I wouldnt be so keen to see it at Joshin.
There is a lot of detail in the diorama beyond the obvious. Look at the Eldar's left hand, there is a kn...I said look at her HAND. There is a knife within reach of her. There are lots of small things like this scattered about.

It doesn't matter if warp spiders or rangers dont get the guardsmen. When the commissar hears about this it'll be 'Blammo!" for each of them.

I believe the same painter also did a diorama of some guardsmen trapped aboard a possessed space ship.

[Mike the Pike]

Random thoughts...

My thoughts on this are much the same as for the 'Wet Nurse' piece, sure it's art but what's the point? It is technically well executed and full of interesting detail but not exactly my cup of tea.

Then again, is it any worse than Francisco Goya's "Horrors of War" series? Damien Hirst's sheep etc etc?

I think that the combination of sex and violence is what puts most people off, but again,the same sort of thing (actually even more graphic) can be seen in any number of 'good' war movies.

Is it the medium or the content which offends? Why is sexual violence depicted in movies acceptable (as art and message) but not in Miniature?

What is the artists POV? The title is "Alien Contact" which has a slight innuendo <nudge, nudge> <wink, wink> but doesn't actually say anything about why the artist created such a piece. If it were called "Man's inhumanity to Alien" would it be more acceptable? "Time to get some" = abhorrent?

Yet, it's obviously not a table top piece, it's meant as an artistic diorama. Mind you none of his other stuff even comes close to being so thought provoking.

While it is amazingly executed and filled with small details, I have to agree with one poster, where are the track marks from the tank. The ground is very muddy but there is no sign a heavy tracked vehicle has passed through.

Hmmmmm?

P.S. Isn't art sometimes meant to be thought provoking,shocking offensive as per Goya, Hirst etc. If that really was the artist's intention the he has succeeded.

P.P.S. Is the artist even a male? Would it change perspectives if it were created by a woman?

[The Other Dave]

While it is amazingly executed and filled with small details, I have to agree with one poster, where are the track marks from the tank. The ground is very muddy but there is no sign a heavy tracked vehicle has passed through.

Man, now I can't unsee that aspect of it.

[me_in_japan]

Is it the medium or the content which offends?

I think this is the question upon which everything depends.