Boris Artzybasheff- Photomontage

Boris Artzybasheff was born and raised in Russia in 1899, and immigrated to America aged 20.  He is said to have fought as a White Russian. In 1919 he arrived in New York City, where he worked in an engraving shop. During his lifetime, however, Artzybasheff was probably best-known for his magazine art.  career has produced a countless number of advertisments, magazine, covers, and editorial illustrations, for companies such as ‘Life’,’Fortune’ and, producing more than  200 covers for the ‘Time’. He was illustrated 50 books, including a book he wrote himself “As I see’. His advertising  over a 24 year span between 1941- 1965work including illustrations for Xerox, Shell Oil, Pan Am, Casco Power Tools, Alcoa Steamship Lines, Parke Davis, Avco Manufacturing, Scotch Tape, Wick wire, Spencer Steele, Vultee Aircraft, World Airways, and Parker pens. During World War II, he also served as an expert advisor to the U.S. Department of State, Psychological Warfare Branch.

Fig 1 Artzybasheff

Artzybasheff is renowned and best remembered for his ability to anthropomorphise characters, He was able to turn machines into livings beings, where toiling machines displayed distinctly human personalities. His creations display a crazy, functional logic, they unfailingly appeal to the inner child engineer in all of us.

Fig 20 Artzbasheff

Boris Artzybasheff also created a few psychological sketches, here is the definition of "discombobulated", "Timidity" and of "frustration. He explores the depiction of vivid and extreme ranges of human psychology and emotion, in the images below. 

Artzybasheff died in 1965. A book he illustrated, Dhan Mukerji's Gay Neck, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1928. Most of his book illustrations favored the crisp line and careful composition that are so distinctively his, alongside many other awards

Inspired my Artzybasheff's technique of creating mechanical beings i decided to create this piece based of on of his own illustration. As his illustrations are very realistic, to save myself time and inspired by other editorial illustrators such as Aude Van Ryn I decided to make a collage. I merged and altered a few photos and images i had found to create a ne mechanical he object. I also changed the colours by tinting the images to match Artzybasheffs semi neutral colour scheme. Just as Artzybasheff does i added some humanise images such as a hat, hands and glasses as a replacement for eyes humanise the mechanical structure more so. 

Artzybasheff has been an extremely interesting artist to research, his combination of detailed drawing and his aspect of surrealism and the strange creates a uniquely bizarre and appealing image. 

Image References

• Fig 1- rtexpertswebsite.com. (2016). Boris Artzybasheff. Expert art authentication, certificates of authenticity and expert art appraisals - Art Experts. [online]
• Fig 2- Bloodyloud. (2016). Illustrator – Boris Artzybasheff (1899 – 1965). [online] Available at: http://www.bloodyloud.com/illustrator-boris-artzybasheff-1899-1965/ [Accessed 17 Nov. 2016].
• Fig 3- Fig 4- Darkroastedblend. (2016) Dark Roasted Blend: Machines Alive! The Whimsical Art of Boris Artzybasheff [Accessed 17 Nov, 2016] Available at Dark Roasted Blend: Machines Alive! The Whimsical Art of Boris Artzybasheff

Bibliography

• Americanartarchives.com. (2016). Boris Artzybasheff. [online] Available at: http://www.americanartarchives.com/artzybasheff.htm [Accessed 17 Nov. 2016].
• Artexpertswebsite.com. (2016). Boris Artzybasheff. Expert art authentication, certificates of authenticity and expert art appraisals - Art Experts. [online]
• Bloodyloud. (2016). Illustrator – Boris Artzybasheff (1899 – 1965). [online]
• Bpib.com. (2016). Boris Artzybasheff. [online] Available at: http://www.bpib.com/artzybas.htm [Accessed 17 Nov. 2016].
• Darkroastedblend. (2016) Dark Roasted Blend: Machines Alive! The Whimsical Art of Boris Artzybasheff [Accessed 17 Nov, 2016] 
• texpertswebsite.com. (2016). Boris Artzybasheff. Expert art authentication, certificates of authenticity and expert art appraisals - Art Experts. [online]