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| Drawing by Anna Christina Frischknecht |
Artist and educator Anna Christina Frischknecht has been a contributor to the Shark blog for many years. Her body of work utilizes many mediums including paint, fabric, magazines and animation. Her quirky drawings and paintings come alive with as much vigor as her animations.
Her drawings are as ornate and elaborate as Mughal miniatures. They carry the emotive mark making of a Van Gogh. Her ink works have emboldened many subjects over the years, from horror comics to children’s educational books. “I Must Have It” showcases a plethora of mark making styles and color pairings. Her palettes vibrate like Josef Albers’ dreams.
Besides being the creative director behind Los Coutlers’ music videos, Anna has produced many other animations. The stop-motion short “The Vision” uses collage elements and paint to reveal the spectacle built around products and branding. In the video, hypnotized viewers visit an auditorium to see advertisements. Anna brilliantly uses collaged ads as part of their own critique. “Mascera’s Incident” reveals the struggle involved in the quest for beauty through consumer products. The animations have a grittiness similar to Bill Plymton’s toons. A pungent air of sinister sarcasm envelopes the piece.
Her talents as a painter can’t be ignored. The hordes of detailed consumers in each painting are as epic as a Bruegel or Bosch. Multiple narratives fluidly intersect in one setting; often a bedazzled capitalist shrine such as a mall or salon. It would seem the grotesque people from Grosz’s and Dix’s paintings live on, shopping and grooming themselves in Frischknecht’s frightful scenes.
Spending time with any of her work is very rewarding. See more of her art here on SharksEatMeat and at her personal site annafrischknechtartwork.blogspot.com
Review by John Aaron Coulter
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