new review

The Secret of Rusty Things, By Michael de Meng

As a child, I spent many hours reading fairy tales and myths. The myths I read and studied were ancient. I loved them and they came from all over the world. I related to each one of them intuitively. I couldn't help it! Many readers, like me, begin as chldren, loving myths. Possibly you agree that the human condition, our joys, trials, everything, is distilled myth, be it Inuit, Hindu, Greek. Myths can seem grand and off putting, but paired with the humor and charm of an assemblage artist/teacher such as Michael de Meng, they are lively and fun to depict as artworks! Read this book and you are reading two books side by side: de Meng recounts the myth he is concerned with, then begins to discuss the process he goes through when he creates an art piece representing that myth. Simultaneously, he comments in journalling script form on the side of each page about what is going on in his real life with a different sort of emotional immediacy, as he is making the art piece, or recalling something to do with it. Both segments of the book intersect and cross over in certain ways...but the main segment essentially deals with the original myth and his work on creating the piece he makes inspired by it, using bathroom scales he alters, or funky "Brady Bunch '70's clocks", the insides of irons, and things he likes. You read a vaiety of discussions and tales of the processes he goes through in order to do create his art pieces. The notebook part basically discusses life stories: where he was when he found something, how he was feeling, why it was great. What is super unique and good about this book? Without being "grand" about it, Michael de Meng explains that artists are the people who climb to the top of the pyramid...who get that chance to look all around with that "all seeing eye" (he mentions eyes quite a bit and uses them in his work frequently), and then, when inspired, they climb back down to earth and, without being frightened by being judged, express themselves through creating. Some readers have commented that the photography is too dark in this book. I disagree. This is a mysterious book and the photography s perfect for it. It is extremely cool. I don't want to be Mr. de Meng, however, if I lived near him, I would certinly take a class from him, because I believe he really has a lot to offer, and he offers up his heart and soul, in an incandescent manner, in this remarkable, fascinating book. If I were teaching a class on found objects and altered art, I would insist that this book, The Secret of Rusty Things, by Michael de Meng, be on the reading list. It is illuminating.