Fairy Tales & Colophon
by @perfectagala
March 20025
The two series featured in this issue, Colophon and Fairy Tales, subtly reflect the influence of Albrecht Dürer’s detailed woodcuts with their medieval-inspired aesthetic. Dürer’s careful craftsmanship and emotive storytelling, as seen in his work for St. Jerome’s Letters in 1492, resonate in bvstard.ai’s approach, where intricate designs and narrative elements are explored. bvstard.ai channels the spirit of traditional woodcuts while maintaining a modern graphic vibe using consistent, flat colors throughout.
Fairy Tales
Art by @bvstard.ai
bvstard.ai is a London-based artist renowned for creating masterful and striking AI-generated artworks of the male form, produced using Midjourney. With a unique blend of beards, horror, fashion, kink, and sci-fi elements, the work reflects themes of self-expression, much like the conceptual approach of Cindy Sherman, focusing on the construction and performance of self. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, from myth to pop culture, sci-fi to classical art, bvstard.ai weaves together a rich tapestry of influences, adding depth and narrative to their visual storytelling.
The series Fairy Tales features bearded men and bears in a variety of poses, suggesting intimacy and friendship. Set against a green and cream graphic background, the figures are rendered in a grey woodcut style. One image depicts a man holding a giant eagle, while another shows a winged man. The figures are dressed in medieval-style armor and clothing, yet convey a distinctly modern aesthetic. This series blends warmth, strength, and vulnerability, inviting the viewer to engage with themes of identity and connection.
In art, a “colophon” can also serve as the artist’s signature or a trace of their creative process.
Colophon
Art by @bvstard.ai
Colophon features a series of bearded men holding a medieval bestiary of creatures, including tentacled animals, geese, ducks, whales, gryphons, camels, and lorises, rendered in cream and grey against a graphic background of red manuscript-style colophons. Traditionally, a colophon appears at the end of manuscripts to provide details about the work’s creation. In this series, it subtly references the documentation of both the artistic process and medieval woodcut inspiration.
