Friday, 24 October 2014
Lipstick and razors
She lived for her art.
The pride swelled within her each time she browsed her gallery.
Each one a masterpiece.
Each one a unique complex of curling swirls and whorls. Intertwining patterns interspaced with fine carvings and vignettes.
She surveyed her latest, her best to date in her opinion.
The memory of composition still fresh in her mind. The glint of bright light off steel still fresh in her eye. The feel of red swab still fresh on her fingertips.
And not an inch of skin without pattern.
Beautiful, just beautiful.
Yes, she lived for her art.
That others had to die for it mattered not.
©2014 Stephen. J. Green.
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Good art is expensive. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly expensive to her subjects. :-)
DeleteYou have to go where your art takes you! ^_^
ReplyDeleteYeah, Helen. Even unto the gates of hell. Bwuhahahahahaha!! :-)
DeleteI wonder if it would win a Turner prize.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope not, Icy. We wouldn't really want to encourage this kind of art, would we? :-)
DeleteGreat art takes great sacrifices...even involuntary ones! Har, har...
ReplyDeleteHaha!! Thanks for the Sunday morning smiles Cindy. :-D
DeleteWhat's that old phrase, "Art is made with the eye of the beholder?" A well done piece perfect for this time of year.
ReplyDeleteThank you. In this case art is made with the entirety of the subject's skin too. Ouch! :-)
DeleteNot very considerate of her, but perhaps someday she'll be art for someone else.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Richard. I wonder how she would view life from the other side of the canvas, so to speak.
DeleteThis brought to mind that Peter Greenaway film Ewan McGregor was in...
ReplyDeleteGood choice not describing what the "art" actually looked like!
Hi Katherine. Yes, I tend to think that, given a prompt, a reader's imagination can probably conjure up far more graphic images than the written word can.
DeleteAh, a wonderfully open, yet complete story. One is left to imagine the suffering, others endure in your space and time. Wonderfully put!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Claudia. It's so easy to imagine the horrific damage someone can do with a razor or scalpel, isn't it?
DeleteArt is a slice of life. Or maybe just a carving of it. Really creepy stuff, Steve.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen. I think the term "Slice of life" fits gruesomely well with this particular story.
DeleteRight away I dig the title. Really great title, Steve.
ReplyDeleteYou’ve got it down to a T, the pretentiousness of the self-proclaimed artist, genius, volatile god. This one here’s tipped over the edge and into the mad scientist realm!
Thanks Miss Alister, I really like the title too. For some reason I felt a little that maybe the story wasn't quite strong enough, or vicious enough to live up to that title. I was quite tempted to embellish the story much more, but on reflection I'm glad that I decided not to.
DeleteNothing quite like a razor to make your reader wince is there? As Cheech says, sharp short!
ReplyDeleteHey Harry, It's really good to hear from you, I hope all is okay on your side of the pond. :-)
DeleteI do like the term "Sharp short" too. Thank you. :-)
when living art becomes dead art...
ReplyDeleteHi Marc. I think it's quite probable that the only ones to view her work may well be shortly to become objet's d'art themselves. :-)
DeleteThat was great Steve, brief but powerful. I loved the final line too, such nonchalance lol.
ReplyDeleteHiya Casey, I hope things are good with you.
DeleteI'll bet she wouldn't be quite so nonchalant if she were the one being worked on though. :-)
You gotta pay a price for your work. It's just business...
ReplyDeleteHeheh, yeah. Only in this case it's the work itself that pays the highest price. :-)
DeleteLOL funny!
ReplyDeleteSonia, you have a wicked sense of humour. LOL. :-)
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