En Derin

Synthol is composed of 85% medium-chain triglyceride oils (a fatty acid), 7.5% lidocaine (painkiller), and 7.5 5 benzyl alcohol. The preparation is injected deep into the muscle where it is encapsulated between the fascicles (bundles of muscle fibers) . With repeated injections, a larger volume of oil builds up inside the muscle, expanding its size like a balloon filling up with air. About 30% of what is injected is metabolized by the body. The other 70% remains lodged in the muscle where it breaks down very slowly over three to five years. There seems to be some issue of debate among bodybuilders as to whether or not Synthol actually lasts this long, and some believe it is even longer. Chris Clark, its inventor, is convinced that it somehow leads to permanent muscle growth in the effected areas, though even he is unsure of the mechanisms that would make this possible. Synthol users report amazing pumps while training, though this could be a result of the extra pressure of the accumulated oil.

Although Mr. Clark claims Synthol is completely safe to use, he also made a point in Greg Zulak’s “Uncensored” several issues ago that he is not legally responsible for bodybuilders using it for anything other than a posing oil. Of course, injecting any amount of fatty-acid material intramuscularly can be perilous. This is complicated by the fact that scant few bodybuilders have any medical training. Without knowing the location of major nerves, it’s easy to hit one by accident and cause permanent paralysis of muscle fibers in the area. With an injection of any type, abscess infections at the injection site are always a possibility. Often abscesses (extremely painful build-ups of infected tissue) require surgery to remove, not unlike a tumor. You haven’t heard the worst yet. Should you inject into a vein or artery by mistake (avoided by drawing back on the syringe to make sure there is no blood, a simple precaution many folks are too squeamish to take) the fatty acids could be transported to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, the heart, causing a heart attack, or perhaps even into the brain, leading to a cardioembolic stroke. All three cases are potentially fatal. For more details visit, bodybuilding.

Illustrator and graphic designer Marco Escobedo’s work focuses on the surreal and fantastic, using high contrast and richly saturated colors to create scenes and characters that look like they could be from another planet. While it’s often serious and dark, there are also hints of playfulness and humor, as in his portrait of Michael Jackson sitting on a rhinoceros.

Each illustration is intricately detailed, and clearly the result of countless hours of work and experimentation manipulating photographs with all of the brushes, textures and effects that software like Adobe Photoshop can provide.

Like many digital artists, Escobedo started his career in traditional painting, taking several classes in it and learning skills that he would later apply to his digital work. But it wasn’t long before he became enchanted with graphic design and began experimenting in programs like Corel Draw, Photoshop and Illustrator.

“But it is unquestionably Photoshop that greatly encouraged me to undertake the development of my work,” says Escobedo on his Flickr profile.

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It could be said that the goal of modern art is to surprise viewers and force them to stretch their understanding of “art.” By using completely new methods and/or materials, artists cause us to reevaluate our expectations. That’s exactly what Korean artist Osang Gwon does with his sculptures. They are completely unlike what you’d expect from a sculpture, yet they are as expressive and beautiful as more traditional sculptures.

Gwon’s sculptures aren’t chiseled from marble or cast in metal; they are made up of hundreds of photographs overlaid on a light core. Gwon takes a two-dimensional art form – the photograph – and fuses it with a three-dimensional art form – sculpture – to create an entirely new type of art. His sculptures redefine the very genre he’s working in; in fact, he’s had to defend their status as sculptures on many occasions.

Gwon’s unique style was born out of a simple concern: traditional sculpting materials were too heavy. He decided that he would never create a sculpture that couldn’t be moved by him and one friend. The desire for a more mobile sculpture, coupled with his dual love of sculpture and photography, brought about his unusual artwork. He has named the innovative sculptural style “Deodorant Style.”

The method Gwon uses to create these life-size replicas is complicated and can take two months per sculpture. He starts off taking thousands of photographs of his subject from every imaginable angle. He then sculpts a life-size core out of lightweight foam and begins the painstaking process of attaching the photographs, then coating the entire sculpture. The result is somewhat reminiscent of a cubist painting, but with much more depth and character. He doesn’t aim for ultra-reality; he instead wants to portray the way that everything we see is distorted somehow.

But photo-covered foam isn’t the only medium Osang Gwon is known for. One of his installations, The Flat, was created using images cut out from magazines, then stood up with wire to make sculptures. He arranged the individual sculptures into larger sculptures of grouped objects, then took photographs of the resulting display. This exhibit caused more controversy for the artist, because while the artist defined it as sculpture, many viewers refused to accept it as anything other than photography.

(images via: Arario Gallery)

Gwon’s inspiration often comes from real life. He likes to sculpt people that he knows, like friends and family members, but has often been approached by others. In 2008 he created sculptures of the band Keane to correspond with the release of their album Perfect Symmetry. The artist has said that he doesn’t like to put too much of his own emotions or opinions into his work; rather, he strives to portray the world objectively as it is at that very moment.

Fractured Reality: Bizarre 3-D Photo Sculptures

Artist Gwon Osang forms hundreds of photographs around mannequins to create bizarre three-dimensional photo sculptures. Click Here to See More