The Famous Zombies of Ben Brown

Figure 1

Based in Sydney, Australia, illustrator, Ben Brown, has taken the pop culture zombie craze and inserted it into the iconic figures of mainstream society.  From Bob Marley to Spiderman, these skeletal sketches create a visual dichotomy between idol and monster which can be seen in Figure 1. 

Figure 1 shows a divide between Bob Marley the rasta, singing activist and Bob Marley the flesh-eating zombie. His eyes alone support this claim. If the readers were to compare the two sides,  they would notice that his pop culture persona, listlessly stares out, but not at the viewer, while his man-eating counter part casts an illusion of ogling its potential prey.  However, zombie Marley doesn't exactly have any soft human tissue to counteract its monstrous nature. His skeletal structure makes him seem so cannibalistic, in that the viewer can see his teeth  forming a forced smile across one half of his face. What can be surmised is that this monochromatic composition manifests an idea of a paranormal celebration. It allows the different tones of reds, browns, blacks and muted yellows to interact not only with each other, but also across the piece. 

Notice how the lighter hues pop out from figure 1. The effect of this creates a staccato-esque rhythm. The piece is cohesive, but I would not describe it as fluid. The movement is based on the colorful notes struck across the canvas. The vibrant reds are a fantastic example of this, as well as the darker tones, which create shadows and also an emphasis of the structure of Marley's coat. Although, the coat seems to be translucent. On the left side (the viewer's right), his bones are completely visible. However, on the right side (the viewer's left) the coat is more opaque. However, it still embodies some characteristics of its lucid brother. A small portion of the clavicle and most of the ribs can be seen. This has given the figure a sense of decay, while the colors scream life. 

Even his use of lines rebel against the nature of each other. On his right side there is only, for lack of a better term, a swiggle. On his left he looks almost devine as the lines radiate away from his body and then resurface at the two corners as wave like circles, which even dare to enter into him (near his pelvic bone). It truly is a paradox of a piece. And all and all, figure 1 reads as a prevailing display of yin and yang. 

So what is my opinion of Brown, as an artist?

On a scale of 1-10 (1 being unspeakably horrible and 10 being I would sell my soul for such talent), I would rate Mr. Brown as a 7.6. The man clearly has skill and really has perfected his craft. What keeps him from being any higher is my personal taste. Although, I dig this style of art I'm always much more partial to something a bit more honest. With his work you can't really get a sense of who he is, just what his product is. Now don't get me wrong. This is in no way a bad thing. It just means he is successful in commercial art, which probably makes him an exception to the starving artist stereotype. 

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