(cover image, featuring Donaji sculpture)

Secrets of Rusty Things: Transforming Found Objects into Art ~Michael deMeng

-May 2007
-128 pages, North Light Books
-5/5 stars

Today dear readers, you are doubly blessed in that you get not only a book review of a fantastic art/mythology book, but you get art as well!!! I realized early on that there was no way that I could do justice to a review of Secrets of Rusty Things without including images, so I pulled out the trusty digital camera last night and snapped a few pictures of my copy of the book.

The creator is Michael deMeng and in this gorgeous volume he combines his love of creating found object art with his passion for ancient cultural folklore and mythology to create a book that is part how-to, part biography, part art appreciation, and part storytelling. It is an amazing book. You would do well to quit reading this review and order it immediately.

But in case you aren’t convinced…

(Kirttimukha, the Face of Glory)

In the opening of Secrets, Michael deMeng states:

“Myths, like art, are attempts to catch a glimpse of undiscovered country. They take everyday existence and transform it into something remarkable. It is through these stories that misfortunes are transformed into adventures, attractions are transformed into everlasting love, and the process of life and death is transformed into a magnificent mechanism that operates beyond our line of sight.”

With glorious color and page-turning prose Michael deMeng introduces the reader to the characters in these myths and by doing so not only ties his work into the kind of exciting literary tradition that so many of us who are book/story lovers are attracted to, but also inspires those with a creative urge to combine passions for a wondrous result.

The book itself is absolutely beautiful. It contains full page color images of each piece followed by an overview of the character and his/her story, like so:

It is then followed by a more personal anecdote from the artist relating to the mythological character/story. What comes next is not so much a step-by-step process of how each piece was created–this is no create-by-numbers book–but a general overview of various moments in the creative process accompanied by fascinating pictures of the artist at work as his latest creation is being born.

The last quarter of each double page spread looks like the image below and in this notebook-style narrative Michael deMeng talks about the places he has visited to obtain items for that specific project as well as anecdotes about obtaining items from friends, neighbors, etc. It is one of the more entertaining parts of an already entertaining book.

Within the pages of Secrets of Rusty Things you also get something else, something that at the very least feels like an unconscious bonus–you get a portrait of an artist, painted in such a way that the reader can relate to him. These pages do not describe an above-it-all, artsy-fartsy creator. Instead you see a very real person, one who doesn’t always know how something will turn out, doesn’t always like how things turn out, and isn’t afraid to take a break, step away, or start over completely if need be. As you read you see an artist who, through time and practice, has learned to let fears go and embrace experimentation and the creative muse.

(Orpheus and Eurydice)

One of the the many things that causes this book to not only get a perfect 5 out of 5 stars but also my Tri Moon designation (essentially my ‘this is a damn good book!’ seal of approval..the triple red moon is from my first days of blogging) is that Michael deMeng includes various characters that I rediscovered through Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. I feel an extra connection to this book because of the various ways that it ties into the art, literature, and films that I cherish the most.

(Osiris)

The iconography that deMeng embraces is inspiring. He includes alot of eyes (the window to the soul) and glass lenses in his work. There are a fair share of hearts and hands used along with his own unique decorative elements that all combine to give such depth to the stories his creations tell.

It is also incredible to see the wide variety of items he uses, cuts up, restructures, etc. to create these pieces. For example, the oval part of the image below is an old scale!

(Vishnu Dreaming)

Several of the works featured in Secrets of Rusty Things are lit from within, thus necessitating an electrical cord. In true artistic fashion, Michael deMeng often incorporates that into the piece. Vishnu (pictured above) is the part of the Hindu trinity responsible for keeping the world in existence. He dreams the world. I am unsure of whether or not it was intentional, but I also see a vaguely elephantine form to this piece, with the cord being the trunk and the little hinges on the side being ears, almost as if the Ganesha, the Hindu god of success had his hand in the creation.

It is quite interesting to watch the creative process through the various pictures scattered throughout the book and to read deMeng’s narrative. So many times he stumbles upon happy accidents that actually give greater dimension to the work and tie it in more deeply with the mythology that he is trying to represent. That kind of candid nature, as I alluded to previously, makes Michael deMeng such a likeable narrator. He is human, albeit a very talented and skilled one.

(Lilith)

In addition to his skill in putting objects together, Michael deMeng is talented painter. One of the things he does that really brings his work together is use a mixture of paint washes to give each piece a unifying theme. He uses color to visually blend these divergent pieces together into beautiful works of art.

There is so much more to this book than I can really include in this review without going on and on and on. I found a great kindred spirit in deMeng’s obsessive praise for his Dremel tool. I purchased mine when I decided to do a case mod on my computer and though I haven’t used it recently I have to say that I can attest to the joy of using the cutting tool and watching the sparks fly. Michael deMeng also gives Liquid Nails and Great Stuff foam insulating sealant the kind of advertisement that they should be paying him for. And wait until you see what he does with this stuff. I am in awe of his creative genius!

(Zanahary)

This is a book that simply must be owned by anyone with a penchant for creating collage or found art work. Even if what you do is not quite the same, the manner in which this book is structured is inspiring in and of itself. An afternoon spent with Michael deMeng in the pages of Secrets changes your whole view of everyday objects. I am currently working on a project and reading this book not only inspired me to spend more time with the project but also got me to take a different look at what I was trying to do. I was encouraged to embrace some of my original ideas which I had left by the wayside because of doubts I was having. And as I’ve mentioned before, the book itself is just gorgeous. The colors are rich and every page incorporates eye-catching graphic design elements that enhance the images of deMeng’s art and creative process. There are many, many more creations in the book than the few I pictured here. I just had to give you a taste hoping that you’ll go to the source for more.

And this book is just a tip of the iceberg of the kind of work Michael deMeng does. I encourage you to check out his website here for more examples of his work (he does some very cool things with matchbooks). Michael deMeng also has a blog, here, that showcases different images of his work and also allows you to better get to know the artist. And finally Michael deMeng has a store in which you can not only purchase prints of his work but can purchase various found art/ephemera items with which to embellish your own creations.

In closing this book review I leave you with this quote from Michael deMeng’s website. I hope you enjoyed today’s book review/impromptu, early Friday Favorite. Thematically it ties in with the Once Upon a Time II Challenge and would truly be an excellent addition to your collection.

“My work is about transformations. It is about the transformation of the common into the sacred. Discarded materials find new and unexpected uses in my work; they are reassembled and conjoined with unlikely components, a form of rebirth from the ashes into new life and new meaning. These assemblages are metaphors for the evolutions and revolutions of existence: from life to death to rebirth, from new to old to renewed, from construction to destruction to reconstruction. These forms are examinations of the world in perpetual flux, where meaning and function are ever-changing.”

Thank you Michael deMeng for an amazing literary/artistic experience!