Anatomy of Sorrow: The Artwork of Daniel Martin Diaz

by Daniel Martin Diaz, Billy Shire (Foreword by), Janice Gore, Ph.D. (Editor)

Overview

Anatomy Of Sorrow is the latest monograph by prolific and influential artist Daniel Martin Diaz, which explores a new depth of symbolism, mysticism and surreal iconography depicted in paintings, drawings, and prints. Drawing from old masters Jan van Eyck, Pieter Bruegel, and Hieronymus Bosch, both in subject matter and in the ancient egg tempera and resin oil painting technique, the works of self-taught artist and classically trained composer Daniel Martin Da­az possess a sincerity that foregrounds his deep devotion to revealing a higher meaning through painstaking craftsmanship. Through his application of a limited palette on distressed wood, his handmade wooden frames, and his expressive use of Latin text, Da­az's images thrust us into another time and place.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780867197686
Publisher:	Last Gasp of San Francisco
Publication date:	11/15/2011
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	10.24(w) x 10.24(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Most recently, he has been commissioned to create the album cover artwork for the multi-platinum band Good Charlotte. Diaz and his wife and co-founder of their band Blind Divine are owners and curators of Sacred Machine Museum.Daniel Martin Diaz has been commissioned for the PBS Documentary, The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's; the CD artwork for the Atlantic Records multi-platinum band, P.O.D., which sold over one million copies, two large altar pieces for San Antonio de Padua Catholic Church in Guaymas, Mexico, the Historic Hotel Congress Proscenium stage.

Interactive Content Producer/Editor/Copywriter Greater Los Angeles Area Online Media, Content Producer/Editor/Copywriter at Self Senior Interactive Producer at Threshold Interactive, Senior Content Producer at CBS Interactive, Content Strategist at Xceed, University of Southern California, University of Chicago, University of California, Los Angeles, Producer, writer and editor with substantial experience developing, producing and managing rich content for high-traffic entertainment websites, ...

Read an Excerpt

Beyond The Sacred
By Paula Catherine Valencia

The artwork of Daniel Martin Diaz is steeped in the tradition, yet moved beyond the sacred. His creative imagery has influenced a new generation of artists across the world, which borrow, copy, or imitate, yet fall short of the capturing the true depth of emotion and its source. One of those strong conceptual elements is Diaz's use of the depictions of creatures with human faces, whether Christ-like, angelic, or that of the Blessed Virgin. These mystical snakes and deer, moths and whales have become a signature symbol of humanity; their heads and faces representative of our individual expression, our minds, our souls from which all earthly perceptions are formed. It is in this representation that we are reminded that that it is our connection to nature that truly makes us human and further defines our connection to the Creator of our universe.

Certain elements we recognize and are familiar with, yet somehow we are seeing them for the first time in a surreal and mournful light as if these objects have been recreated so that we may again take notice. It is in these things that we do not truly understand that perplex us, that become meaningful and personal. Each infused with one's own interpretation, which transforms the essence of that which had originated as an insinuated perspective, but now has become a plain and simple reality. It is in this esoteric world, that we find ourselves with Diaz, contemplating and exploring ancient text, mystical images, and metaphysical realms that embrace tradition, yet move us beyond the sacred.

Editorial Reviews

"The work of this self taught Mexican-American artist is broodingly personal with a compelling, esoteric edge." — The Los Angeles Times

"... a strange melange of ancient and contemporary. Part religious icon, part emotionally laden and sorrowful lament." — Raw Vision

From the Publisher