I’m sure somebody is going to find this distasteful, but I love weird art, especially the kind that makes you stop and think. If it repels you, why? Are you disgusted? Are you curious? Do you find yourself able to appreciate its interesting qualities while divorcing yourself from the “weirdness” or “grossness” of it? Can you see attractive qualities of form and grace even though the subject matter is, perhaps, not what you might think of as beautiful or pleasant?

For a lot of people, the answer to all or most of those is no.

Those people should not look at the wondrously bizarre sculptures of Francesco Albano.

Art like this is always a wonder and a conflict for me. To post it here makes me feel as though I owe an apology to my mother and my priest, even though I take no offense at it, nor do I even find it particularly gruesome. This isn’t violence, after all, even if some of the images may summon the connotation of violence to some. But that’s only because we don’t naturally see ourselves in this light, in these forms. These are bodies, except they aren’t. And despite their “realism”, nobody’s going to go mistaking them for the real thing.

Why do things like this repulse some and speak to others? I certainly wouldn’t, you know, have one of these front and center in my living room, but the spectacle makes you think. As I view these, I think about old age, addiction, emotional weakness, the consequences and obstacles of human endeavor. I think of the temporal nature of life and our misuses of it. I think of the meaty, earthy qualities of Man, who yet views himself as so superior to all other forms of life, even in the face of his own fragility.

Considerations like these are what make this sort of work so valuable. They’re also why I feel the need to pass the art along.