Artists - Part 17

Mike Manfull

I'm delighted to share the work of Utah artist Mike Manfull, who follows this blog.  With a degree in fine art and retired from a career in the construction industry, Mike's love of building design and architecture shows up in his art.  He does both photography and digital graphics, and his works have won statewide art competitions.  His images are often a combination of unexpected elements and show his sense of humor.  Not all of his art features male nudes, but today I'll show you some of the pieces that do.

It's worth clicking on these images to see the larger versions, because Manfull puts so much detail into them.

Above is my favorite work of his, called Milking Barn Fantasy.  It combines wildly different elements: the cows, the Gothic-looking structure, and the caryatids, which in ancient Greek temples were statues of female figures acting as pillars holding up the building.  Here, they're hunky naked men.  Are they statues, or are they live men holding up the building, like Atlas holding up the heavens?  Because it's a fantasy, I think they're men.  Then the title, Milking Barn Fantasy, suggests a question: who is going to get milked?

But wait, there's more!  You can't see it in the first photo, even if you click to enlarge it, but in the 20x30 inch print available from the artist, you'll see something very interesting about the cows' udders and teats (above).  Milking fantasy, indeed!

Cornflower Fireworks Exposed combines a naked man, butterflies, and a cornflower suspended in the air like a burst of fireworks.  Flowers are another favorite subject for Manfull.

Turkey Roundup shows two guys chasing turkeys through the architecture that Manfull loves to depict.  One suspects this roundup will be about as successful as herding cats.  Note all the birds – not just turkeys, but flying birds.  Manfull loves portraying birds, especially birds in flight.

Variations on a Fox(glove) combines architecture with giant hanging banners of foxglove flowers, several foxes, several foxy naked men, and birds.

Low Tide is a scene in Venice, as we can tell not only by the canal but by the characteristic Venetian striped gondola mooring posts.  

High Tide is a companion piece.  Superficially it's the same scene; however, the figures are posed differently, the water is a bit higher (tides in Venice are often less than a foot), and the shadows have changed, so it must be a different time of day.  But the biggest change is that the mooring posts have become almost vertical.  In the fantasy world of Manfull's art, the phallic symbols are having erections.

Swimming in a Pool With No Water again combines some of Manfull's favorite elements: architecture, naked men, and birds.  Dare I say that the pool is man-full?  (Sorry, Mike!)

Finally, Return to Egypt - Christmas 2012 is one of many works with a Christmas theme.  Most are conventional Christmas scenes, but this one is a startling combination of elements.  There are two naked Egyptian men/gods - the falcon-headed Horus and the ibis-headed Thoth – in what looks like an Egyptian temple, plus animals that remind us of a manger scene, except the animals are deer, a reindeer, ocelots, and a tiger, plus a big Christmas tree and Christmas wreaths on the walls.  And birds, including a flock of cardinals as ornaments on the tree.  Well, it's a fantasy, so why not?

You can see more of Mike Manfull's art on his website www.manfulldesign.com.  Poster-size prints of many of the pieces are available for purchase.