The Seductive World of......

 Jasper Goodall

I was first introduced to the magic of Jasper Goodall, through my then-partner, now-wife, the gorgeous Spinal Love-Lost. Along with her acerbic wit, babydoll looks, Goldilocks hair, and and fondness for Jack Skellington, she also brought with her a trove of simply fabulous art and photography books. Great tomes of snaps and creations from the elite of photographers and digital artists from around the globe.

 Amongst this Aladdin's den, was a particularly inspirational volume from the Big Active people. Big Active attempt to, "bring together a vibrant group of like-minded visual conspirators who enjoy the thrill of seducing the world with their images" ('The Seductive World of Big Active: Head, Heart & Hips", Gerard saint, 2005).

The first image, one that hooked me in with it's contrasting bold, up-front quality mixed with a controlled,  discerning use of colour (slow release- almost fetishistic in it's restriction, deliberately and willingly,  holding back to add to the sensation) and made me instantly want to see more was 

The Jolly Roger

Turning frantically to the Contents Page of the 'Head, Hearts and Hips' book to locate the Jasper section , I quickly flicked to these beautifully illustrated depictions from Greek Mythology.

and below, one of his many takes on Aphrodite...

I love the strength of these images, how provocative they are, less pushing, more smashing to oblivion, any taboos about sexuality and desire. There is a quote in the book where Jasper goes on about how he believes that sexual desire and appreciation of art come from the same place in the brain- I kinda get where he is coming from here; when you look at certain images, your 'spidy' senses are awoken, the eyes widening, the sexual head coming on, and in turn, during sex, it can, in special circumstances, seem like a debauched choreographed sexual ballet, art taken to a physical level, a sexual level(just my take- completely subjective, I know).

I also really like the use of the white against the black. It first brought to mind the glossy latex associated with fetishwear, then it reminded me of those pictures that early Gestalt psychologists used, like the Rubin Goblet, which attempted to prove, graphically, that two perceptions can be seen from one stimuli, and  therefore that  perception is more than just the stimuli that enters the eye(fascinating stuff- please don't yawn).

Rubin Goblet

He can also do colour btw like in this great image for the luxury swimwear label, JG4B.....

or here, with one of his most recent ventures, a creation for Paris design agency, La Surprise, with the catchy title, 

"Angel of Death"

I also love his 'PornoGothic' series, where he has produced some amazing posters with a 'horror movie/pornography' theme, inspired by the artwork of horror B-Movies such as these.. 

Here are a few, but there are a whole load on his official website:

Just time for one more quick set of prints from my most favourite of his projects, from his 'Poster Girls' exhibition at Electric Blue Gallery in East London. Again, this is only a snippet of the complete set, but are amongst my favourite illustrations.  

Pink Polish

Crude Oil

This one, above, would look great in my upstairs hall, and methinks I will be making a purchase some time soon(time to start saving the pennies....that said, at £135 or so, it's definitely an affordable modern masterpiece)

Evil-Mickey

See the full series here: 

I leave you with a short video that some kind soul has put together, and fired it up on youtube. It is an excellent wee montage of many of his works. Hope you like it?