Fringe Culture Interview - Never Published 2002

Fringe Culture is a local magazine created and run by Jerry Barksdale. This issue has not been released. You can contact Jerry here:

E-mail: EROXTHIS@aol.com

Website: http://www.templeofpain.da.ru/

How long have you been involved in "Necrosculpting"?

The Necrosculpture concept was conceived in 1997. In those five years, many creations have been constructed. Many more will be created in the future.

Do you have any previous artistic experience? What I mean is are you really an artist or do you just like to play with dead things?

I have not had any formal training in art, but I do consider myself an artist. By definition, an artist is one who does anything well; and, in my opinion, what I create, I do well.

Other than the sculptures, I draw as well. I sketch out each sculpture to the last detail before I start any construction.

As for playing with dead things - I don't play with them, I collect them. I have a large collection of animal skulls, preserved animals in jars, tanned skins and oddities. I have one oddity that is a backbone of a dog that had Multiple Sclerosis, which means the backbone is fused together.

Don't you think it's a bit odd? Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe you were in the early serial killer development stage?

I don't see my art as being "odd" at all. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. People express themselves in different ways, mine just happens to be the use of deceased organisms.

As for being in the early development stages of a serial killer, that's absurd! In many cases of serial killers, it has been stated that they lived in a very oppressive household where they were abused mentally, physically, sexually or even spiritually, and that has an effect on their way of thinking.

Serial killers associate pain with love, abuse with affection and even loneliness with abandonment. It is this feeling of abandonment that leads the killer to take a body part of a victim as a trophy. When they take that trophy, they feel like they aren't alone.

I did not grow up in an environment like the one a serial killer may grow up in. I grew up in a loving, affectionate family that did not oppress me in any way. My parents supported me in my decisions and allowed me to pursue any interest I may have had. They gave me the love and affection that a child needs in their early developmental stages.

What motivated you to create your first piece?

The motivation that I had when I created my first sculpture, The Bone Column, was a humongous dissatisfaction with many works of art that are in the main stream "pop" culture of today. I decided that I would create the art I wanted to own.

I'm sure you draw quite a bit of controversy with your art, what has been your most memorable comment?

Believe it or not, there hasn't been too much controversy. I have received mainly positive feedback from visitors that have been to my web site.

There are two comments that stick out in my mind though. A person contacted me almost a year ago when the site went "live". His comment was "Why don't you do something creative, like draw or paint?"

I read that and scratched my head. I thought, "So, constructing something out of nothing isn't being creative?"

I had to laugh at that.

Another comment came from a representative from The Nation of Islam. This person said that my desecration of animals made "Allah" mad. He said that if I stopped creating my art now and bury the bones, "Allah" would be merciful with me and wouldn't send me to the lake of fire.

I guess this person didn't take the time to read a previous interview about where I acquire my bones. I don't kill these animals. I get them from other sources.

People never cease to amaze me with their stupidity.

How/Where do you find your supplies?

In the beginning, I started out collecting road kill off of the street and letting them decompose naturally. Obviously, this process was very smelly and posed a Health Hazard. I had to find another source for my supplies.

I have a friend who lives in southern Kentucky. He owns quite a bit of land. I told him of my difficulty and he offered to collect some road kill and other dead animals from farms for me. He said he would designate a section of his land for the animals and allow them to decompose there. Every so often, he will deliver a box or two full of bones.

Your sculptures are riddled with dark symbolism, is there a particular message your attempting to get across?

Each creation has a specific meaning to me. But I never reveal what that meaning is. I want the viewer to use their imagination and devise their own meaning based on what they see. Artists have used this method throughout the ages. An example of this is DaVinci's painting of the Mona Lisa. The secret of her smile may never be discovered, but we can interpret it any way we want.

If given the chance would you ever create art with a human carcass? Describe what you would create and the symbolism behind it?

If I had the chance to build a sculpture out of human remains, I would. I researched different emporiums that sell human bones, but alas, they are quite expensive. So I abandoned the idea until I can afford them. If someone wanted a custom piece created with human remains, I would acquire them.

If I were to create a sculpture out of human bones, it would be a BioMechanical piece. I like the idea of blending organic matter with inorganic materials, but again, I would want the viewer to decipher the pieces' meaning and symbolism for themselves.

Tell us some stories, I'm sure you have a few?

I do have some stories that may be of interest to the reader.

One evening, back when I was collecting road kill, my girlfriend and I decided to go to the movies. While traveling, I spotted a dead possum in the middle of the road. It must have been the biggest possum I had ever seen. It looked like a medium sized dog!

I stopped the car and opened the trunk. I was well prepared in those days. I carried around a "road kill kit" composed of latex gloves, a flashlight, pliers, razor blades and a air tight five gallon bucket. I took out the flashlight; put on my gloves got the bucket. I went over to the possum and picked it up and placed it into the bucket. I then disposed of the gloves, sealed the bucket and put my things back into the trunk. Then we went on our way.

Down the road, a mile of so after the possum, I saw a raccoon. So, I stopped the car, opened the trunk and acquired the raccoon the same way as the possum. And we were on our way, again.

After the movie, we were both hungry, so we went to a 24-hour diner. We must have not noticed but the supposed airtight bucket wasn't sealed airtight and some of the gasses had escaped. So when we got to the diner and were seated, a few people we knew said, "man this place must have a sewer leak, or something, because it sure smells like something died."

I replied, "that must be us." The people had a puzzled look on their faces, so I explained what the smell was and why I was collecting road kill. One of the people ran to the restroom to throw up. The other said, "no, you are just joking." I replied that I was not joking and I was serious about making this kind of art. I offered to bring in the animals to show them, but they ran off. They never spoke to me again.

Another time, long after the diner incident, I became interested in mummification. I wanted to create my own mummy.

I put together a wooden box with screws and sealed the cracks with caulking. I then found a dead badger lying on the side of a road. I picked it up, and placed it into the box. I put the lid on tight and sealed the cracks. I then placed the box into a well-lit area that would heat up the box and hopefully cause mummification. I had heard that heat and the lack of air would cause mummification. Boy, I was wrong.

A week later, I checked the box and found to my surprise the caulk had blown out from the cracks from the inside. I immediately opened the box and was hit with the most nauseating odor I had ever smelled.

After a few minutes, I could finally breathe again. I looked into the box and to my surprise, along with the maggots and carrion beetles the body and bones had liquefied! The liquid was this neat brown-green color.

Since I collect interesting things, I found a jar and poured the liquid into it. About a week after, I noticed an odd smell coming from the jar. Apparently the liquid caused gasses and they worked their way, to escape, under the lid.

Needless to say, I disposed of the jar. And didn't try mummification again, I may try again after learning the proper way to create a mummy.

On a side note, the reason this mummification didn't work is because I neglected to remove the internal organs of the badger. I also forgot to pack the body cavity with salt. Salt would dry out the body and help with the mummification process.

I may try my mummy experiment again.

All Images and Text is Copyrighted by Jerry Barksdale © 2002

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