►Christopher Lee Donovan - Bizarre beauty

►Christopher Lee Donovan shows a complexity and sophistication in his work that rivals artist's decades his senior. Living in Boston Massachusetts, Donovan works with a variety of mediums, including traditional film and digital methods, to manipulate his work into what is sometimes bizarre, sometimes disturbing, and always quite beautiful.

Artist's Statement ... 

"I used to believe that my artwork and I were two very different things; my images seemed to simply be odd ideas from my imagination. However, lately I have been finding more of myself in my work- though mostly in the sub-levels rather than on the surface. It may be in the twisting fingers of a hand, the falling of light or a pattern of grain and texture, but it is me. Perhaps, becoming part of your own art is unavoidable. 

My artwork has been described as 'quietly complex', 'eerily peaceful' and 'wicked fucking creepy' ..and so have I. I enjoy creating music related art, especially for CD jackets and hope that this is the direction my career will take.

I suppose my greatest influences in terms of my style would include Dave McKean and J.K. Potter, both of whom heavily manipulate the photographic image by digital and traditional methods, respectively, to create their work. Recently, my work has been slowly approaching surrealism and growing more so with every passing day. I`ve chosen photography as my medium as an artist because many people view a photograph as a document of truth. My goal is to then take what is perceived as real and introduce a hint of fiction into it. By doing this, I hope to free my audience from an ordinary world and introduce them to one which can sometimes be extraordinary...

 

I've recently been trying to juggle the work that pays the bills with the work that I love and it's been an experience to say the least. There are many plans in the works right now for future-maybes: Priority one is teaching. I've been teaching classes at the Community Darkroom in Rochester, NY and I love it. I need to sort out how I'm going to get from teaching for a non-profit to something that can pay the bills. Aside from that, it is very satisfying work. I'm teaching Photoshop on 5 e-Macs. Macs are bad enough- an e-Mac is the equivalent of a Mac with "special needs". Then there is Circuit City, which pays the bills. I talk about digital cameras all day to peoples- it's time reasonably well spent. It's actually quite similar to teaching- just with the added pressure of convincing my students to open their wallets and spend, spend, spend! Did I mention our extended warranty?

Another idea which has been loosely tossed between my old art/music doppelganger, Mike DeMonaco, for as long as I can recall- is collaboration. More to the point, an attempted organization of all the artists/musicians we know in the Boston region to produce and distribute the work. This of course means abandoning the sinking ship of the Western NY economy and moving back east.

As for specific art projects coming up- I'm backing off from big projects. Billy Atlas remains unfinished. I've been working on new pages- expect to see them soon. But it has been the most difficult endeavor of my artistic career. I don't think I'm suited to these grand scale works. I'm young, my ideas, skills, and perception of the world changes day by day- my opinions of the project change in the middle of working on it. Maybe when I'm old, stale and set in my ways I'll be able to commit this sort of work :) "

http://www.christopherleedonovan.com/