Ok, not the "fab four".....I mean beetles....insects...the Royal Palace in Brussels is literally covered with them.
The chandeliers, inset panels on the walls and ceiling are covered with beetles that were collected from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesian restaurants ...where they are a delicacy.
In 2002, 1.6 million Thai jewel beetles were glued to the ceiling by Belgian artist Jan Fabre to create Heaven of Delight.
In the spring of 2008, Fabre exhibited other beetle encrusted pieces at the Louvre in Paris.
Beetles have been used for centuries for adornment.
Fabre is not the only artist fascinated with beetles.....
Christopher Marley , an Oregon based artist works with the real thing, he takes specimens of beetles mounting them side by side to make fantastic collages of color and shape.
He collects beetles from all around the world and mounts them into groupings.
The colors and patterns of beetles are art in themselves!
I love the violin beetle's body with it's rich woody shades...
Contemporary artists Connie and Randy Cotita created this custom furniture finish inspired by the beetle. Layers of cool colors and iridescence aged patinas mimic the insect's shells. They even painted one on a cabinet door!
The chiton shells of the beetle have been used in textile adornment for centuries. This incredible work is contemporary by a wonderful textile artist in Texas, Michael Cook.
Well....do you have "beetle-mania" yet? I do! I can add this to collecting lichens, taxidermy and other odd curiosities I find addicting! What odd hobbies or collections do you enjoy?
Here is another wonderful link to the use of the shells in textiles.
16 comments:
My goodness the chandeliers,panels and ceilings are glorious, I thought I was looking at malachite until I started to read your words. I thought I knew loads of wierd stuff but decoration by beetle corpse had eluded me so far... fabulous.
See, this is why I have to keep featuring you on designinspiration.
Oh Helen, I am just chasing after you! ;) You set the standard with historical stencils in the industry. Anyone reading this should click on your name to be amazed!
Theresa-You should check out The Butterfly People in Old San Juan, PR. The have a similar style to their art work. There are soooo many beautiful bugs in this world!!
Thea
What an amazing installation. like the butterfly wings but so much more colorful and such an interesting medium to work with . Many people dislike insects in art or in decorating. I have a traditional silver Cicada pin from Provence and I love it. Great Post! You are a deep well of information and knowledge!
I, too, thought malachite was the lovely only to find beetlemania. (Wonder if there is a proper psycho term for this amount of beetle love?) If you don't read Mrs. Blandings, you might enjoy today's feature. I also suggested she prowl your archives for ideas and the Helen Morris today will be another bonus!
Wow I am blown away with this art form. So beautiful. Jewels.
Thank you this was really enjoyable... I must show this to some friends.
Lee
I love yur blog.
I did peek in on Helen... she is now on my blog roll.
Thanks again, this was fabulous.
Lee
Like Lee said above - Wow, wow, wow! I've never seen such Emerald green. It reminds me of malachite. I've never seen these before, so excuse me if all I keep saying is - Wow, Wow, and WOW! Thanks, T.
Catherine
There will never be another artisan like Mother Nature. Wow, is that ceiling glorious -- I mean, the color...swoon. So, yes, put me down for Beetle-mania! Love each and every post you write and artisan you feature...geez, have I said that enough? P.S. I'm putting this on Twitter tomorrow -- hope it brings a few more eyes to your blog. :)
This is so bizarre and sooooo beautiful. The colors are my favorites, and well nature is just so great, texture and original.. thanks...
Thank you HBD. I had not viewed Mrs Blandings in a few weeks...WOW, did I miss a LOT! She is now one of my favorites!
Love looking at the world of art through your eyes! Since green is my fav color you had me at the first image and to then discover it was actual beetles well that totally took it over the top. I spent much of my childhood obsessed with creating butterfly and insect collections. Love this post! ~jermaine~
Absolutely fascinating.
I saw your link over at Treasure Hunt.
What incredible works of art, I haven't seen anything like it before. The colour just dazzles.
oh my!!!! what a waste of wildlife! so many creatures had to die because of artestry! that's gross! the only bad luck of these unfortunate beetles was, well, that they were beetles. i wonder what all of you about me would say if that were kittens!
This 'art' form is contributing to the decimation of our wildlife. This artist doesn't 'collect' insects, he dredges them from their environments in devastating numbers with little regard for the consequences for either these fascinating creatures or their ecosystems. Leave displays of this kind to those who do it best - the beetles themselves - or at least borrow from their beauty in a sustainable way by taking only photographs from them. A sinsiter and appalling waste.
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