Bonus image: explodingdog's red robot

Undertoad · 06-13-2001, 11:19 AM

This guy is from http://www.explodingdog.com.

explodingdog is a gent named sam brown, who accepts titles from people, draws pictures from those titles, and posts them to his site.

Over the last few weeks I have become a big fan of explodingdog. I've put the site into the group of sites I visit every day. It's an interesting form, and the artist is very clever.

The pictures are simple, but they have a specific style that the artist has made his own. Rather than try to explain the style, you should just visit the site and look at drawings. (Go now; the link up there opens a new browser window.)

A lot of people don't like art that's immediate and culture-bound. They want art to be hard; the artist had to work at it, so the viewer has to work at it as well.

explodingdog is the antithesis of this. If the pictures were poems, they'd be haiku, not "Howl" or "Leaves of Grass".

Your reaction to the titles and images is immediate, gut-level. Like haiku, the images can be surprising, funny, and lively. Like haiku, their style is intimately a part of the whole experience, and without the "rules" of their style, they wouldn't be what they are.

And like the best art, your individual reaction is most of the experience. The images and titles are so simple, you find that your own thoughts and reactions are larger than what you're looking at.

mr. brown manages to elicit so much out of so little. You feel an odd sort of affinity to his people, even though their "faces" are only two dots, a line and a circle. He gets an awful lot of mileage out of that simplicity. That's part of the point. At face value, it seems any child could do these drawings, but once the style sinks in, you realize that it takes a very adult mind to turn a stick figure into a complex ironic or funny or emotional statement.

And lastly, here is an art form that could not live without the web. Finally. It's not images of art scanned in and posted; it's not some Flash wanker trying to be clever. It's real art that depends on browsers for its consumption and email for its submissions. It deserves a wider audience. Go there now!

lumberjim · 12-27-2003, 12:55 PM

wow

xoxoxoBruce · 12-27-2003, 10:35 PM

Brilliant and entertaining comes to mind.
But so does morbid and depressing

And · 12-30-2003, 03:35 PM

Dumbrella Represent!

I am a long-time Red Robot fan and appreciator of Exploding Dog. Red has made numerous appearances outside of Exploding Dog (as seen above). Small world...

There are some works by Mr. Brown that are easily dark, macabre, even apocalyptic, but as often you can find his art whimsical, light-hearted, and tender. What always strikes me is how deeply emotional or thought-provoking his works are, even as simple as the subject matter and environment may seem.

OnyxCougar · 01-01-2004, 11:46 AM

We're all gonna die

OnyxCougar · 01-01-2004, 11:50 AM

Oh man...there are so many really really good ones...

"I used to like things like that."

Undertoad · 02-09-2004, 10:48 AM

You think you've got it all figured out... figure this out.

And · 02-09-2004, 07:56 PM

I always liked "Science Did Not Fail Me"

poohbearbeth · 02-09-2004, 08:52 PM

These are way cool-------
Thanks for the 411:p

gmr2048 · 02-12-2004, 08:11 AM

i love exploding dog. it's amazing the power of the simple drawings he does. my personal fave:

http://www.explodingdog.com/january1...beinghere.html

anyway, a friend turned me on to a similar site, i haven't had time fully check it out, but it looks cool:

http://creaturesinmyhead.com/

btw, love your site too (oh ye cellar folk)! the IOTD never fails to floor me. keep up the great work!

hot_pastrami · 02-12-2004, 10:40 AM

Oh, hell yeah. I love this kind of stuff. Good one Toad.

HungLikeJesus · 01-30-2008, 11:18 AM

Four years later, exploding dog is still going strong. I like this one.

This one reminds me of some Cellarites.

TheMercenary · 01-30-2008, 12:55 PM

Those really are fantastic. I like the Moon Monster Print and the Laser Eyes series. The duck with laser eyes was good as was the one where he was on his back with the dead birds. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

sweetwater · 01-30-2008, 01:48 PM

the artist should open up a shop at CafePress or something like it ~ these are captivating images. been grinning since i started looking.

Happy Monkey · 01-30-2008, 03:18 PM

It's not CafePress, but he does have a shop.

12-27-2003, 12:55 PM	#2
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	"you know, i never used to cry" wow __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

12-30-2003, 03:35 PM	#4
And Conjunction Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Conjunction Junction Posts: 168	YES! Dumbrella Represent! I am a long-time Red Robot fan and appreciator of Exploding Dog. Red has made numerous appearances outside of Exploding Dog (as seen above). Small world... There are some works by Mr. Brown that are easily dark, macabre, even apocalyptic, but as often you can find his art whimsical, light-hearted, and tender. What always strikes me is how deeply emotional or thought-provoking his works are, even as simple as the subject matter and environment may seem. __________________ -And, Word Wrangler and Keeper of the Cuttlefish.

01-01-2004, 11:46 AM	#5
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	We're all gonna die Attached Images

02-09-2004, 07:56 PM	#8
And Conjunction Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Conjunction Junction Posts: 168	I always liked "Science Did Not Fail Me" __________________ -And, Word Wrangler and Keeper of the Cuttlefish.

02-09-2004, 08:52 PM	#9
poohbearbeth Keeper of the Decorum Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Virginia Posts: 59	way cool These are way cool------- Thanks for the 411:p

06-13-2001, 11:19 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	This guy is from http://www.explodingdog.com. explodingdog is a gent named sam brown, who accepts titles from people, draws pictures from those titles, and posts them to his site. Over the last few weeks I have become a big fan of explodingdog. I've put the site into the group of sites I visit every day. It's an interesting form, and the artist is very clever. The pictures are simple, but they have a specific style that the artist has made his own. Rather than try to explain the style, you should just visit the site and look at drawings. (Go now; the link up there opens a new browser window.) A lot of people don't like art that's immediate and culture-bound. They want art to be hard; the artist had to work at it, so the viewer has to work at it as well. explodingdog is the antithesis of this. If the pictures were poems, they'd be haiku, not "Howl" or "Leaves of Grass". Your reaction to the titles and images is immediate, gut-level. Like haiku, the images can be surprising, funny, and lively. Like haiku, their style is intimately a part of the whole experience, and without the "rules" of their style, they wouldn't be what they are. And like the best art, your individual reaction is most of the experience. The images and titles are so simple, you find that your own thoughts and reactions are larger than what you're looking at. mr. brown manages to elicit so much out of so little. You feel an odd sort of affinity to his people, even though their "faces" are only two dots, a line and a circle. He gets an awful lot of mileage out of that simplicity. That's part of the point. At face value, it seems any child could do these drawings, but once the style sinks in, you realize that it takes a very adult mind to turn a stick figure into a complex ironic or funny or emotional statement. And lastly, here is an art form that could not live without the web. Finally. It's not images of art scanned in and posted; it's not some Flash wanker trying to be clever. It's real art that depends on browsers for its consumption and email for its submissions. It deserves a wider audience. Go there now!

12-27-2003, 10:35 PM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Brilliant and entertaining comes to mind. But so does morbid and depressing

01-01-2004, 11:50 AM	#6
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	Oh man...there are so many really really good ones... "I used to like things like that."

02-09-2004, 10:48 AM	#7
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	You think you've got it all figured out... figure this out.

02-12-2004, 08:11 AM	#10
gmr2048 Jotter of Notes Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 11	site similar to exploding dog i love exploding dog. it's amazing the power of the simple drawings he does. my personal fave: http://www.explodingdog.com/january1...beinghere.html anyway, a friend turned me on to a similar site, i haven't had time fully check it out, but it looks cool: http://creaturesinmyhead.com/ btw, love your site too (oh ye cellar folk)! the IOTD never fails to floor me. keep up the great work!

02-12-2004, 10:40 AM	#11
hot_pastrami I am meaty Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,119	Oh, hell yeah. I love this kind of stuff. Good one Toad. __________________ Hot Pastrami!

01-30-2008, 11:18 AM	#12
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	Four years later, exploding dog is still going strong. I like this one. This one reminds me of some Cellarites. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

01-30-2008, 12:55 PM	#13
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Those really are fantastic. I like the Moon Monster Print and the Laser Eyes series. The duck with laser eyes was good as was the one where he was on his back with the dead birds. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

01-30-2008, 01:48 PM	#14
sweetwater lives inside a Mobius strip Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,120	the artist should open up a shop at CafePress or something like it ~ these are captivating images. been grinning since i started looking.

01-30-2008, 03:18 PM	#15
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	It's not CafePress, but he does have a shop. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

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