Queen Kong the making of!

Finaly it done! My last print... QUEEN KONG is ready. A friend of mine accepted to come at Graff Studio to take pictures while I was working. This post is including most of them plus some pictures taken with my phone.

I'm a big fan of old fantasy monster/adventure films and King Kong (the 1933 version) is by far one of my favorites. Somehow, I find something poetic in it… At this time, special effects were handmade, and creature had to be miniature puppets animated frame by frame. Considering one second has 24 frames and no undo button was available at that time, King Kong testifies to the incredible skill of this animator to give life to this creatures.

For those how didn't have a chance to see one of the three versions of King Kong, the film tells of a gigantic, prehistoric, island-dwelling ape called Kong who dies in an attempt to possess a beautiful young woman. To quote one of the protagonists at the end of the film when the police officer claims he knows what killed Kong he replied: “Oh, no. It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beautify that killed the Beast.”

The iconic Empire state scene was very inspiring to me in particular for its symbolism and aesthetic. By replacing the giant ape at the top of the Empire State Building by a pinup, I try to explore the theme of beauty and the seductive power of women.