E-mail Miriam Young or interact with her at the Culture Vulture message board. Past stories.

Last time, the Culture Vulture should have given some of you pause when you tried to discern which painting was hanging in the prestigious Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and which was a thrift store art acquisition (Follow this link and scroll to picture No. 2). This week we are focusing on that thrift store work, because something very different happened to it.

Piggyback artists

Thrift store art collectors enjoy displaying the art they find, but some people see a painting that someone threw out, and they see something else. Potential. And some people who might feel intimidated by a blank canvas feel comfortable with working on a painting that has already been "started." Now, just because a painter signs his or her name to a canvas, and frames and hangs a painting, it doesn't mean that painting is actually finished. Not in the eyes of a piggyback artist. A piggyback artist will take a piece that he feels lacks a certain "je ne sais quoi," and will make it into what they feel it needs to be.

How dare someone paint over someone else's painting, you think in horror? Well, let's just remember that (a) old and newer masters often painted over existing canvases and (b) these paintings were "kicked to the curb," literally, or given away or sold for $1 or less. So, whoever discarded that art, allowing it to end up where it did, in effect granted permission for the world to do with it what it might.

Breening

A "Breen"ed painting

Sometimes castaway art lands in the hands of an offbeat, diabolical artist such as Eddie Breen.

One of his blog entries reads: "My name is Eddie Breen (sometimes) and I paint on other people's paintings. Every time I look at a painting, I can see where it could be improved, so if I can get my mitts on it, I paint into it."

Eddie found or bought this lovely painting of a woman in a bathing suit. Now, I like this painting very much, but to Eddie, it needed something. It needed "Breening." Eddie saw this woman as a redhead -- a flaming redhead within a world none of us have probably imagined before.

Eddie enjoys putting kicky phrases in his paintings: "Purgatory is painted PINK to keep everybody CALM!" and "The day cute kitty began ordering the execution of Ed's friends was the day Ed realized his cat was a tyrant!"

According to Eddie's Web site, "Art can neither be good or bad, only interesting or boring." Judging by the fact that Eddie's paintings sold like hotcakes on eBay, and the ensuing interest from galleries and universities, a slew of people seem to like what Breening does to castaway art.

If you visit Eddie's site, don't go anywhere but the "evil letter" page if you are offended by nudity, religious irreverence, and/or bizarre thoughts and creatures. "[Piggyback] Art side effects, though rare, may include dizziness, nausea and existential despair." As he says on his Web site, "I can't help myself. I'm the guy in school who would sit in the library and deface photos of fashion models and politicians in magazines. I'd black out their teeth, white out their eyes and scribble in devil horns and beards. I guess I'm still doing it."

A man with a can

Next time, the Culture Vulture will feature a local artist who beautifies a part of Roanoke that too-few people see. We'll see how one man, and by extension, each of us, can make our corner of the world a treat for the eyes.

Web sites:

Hilarious and safe Breen page.

Eddie Breen's Web site (not for the easily offended).

Miriam Young is a creative director living in color in Roanoke.

Note: Some Web links provided by the Culture Vulture may contain art featuring nudity, strong political content and bizarre visions. Parental guidance is suggested. Please respect the copyrights of the owners when visiting online galleries and obtain artists' permission before downloading any images.