DIEGO LAZZARIN
Aminoacid Boy and the Chaos Order
Autoprodotto, 160 pp. – Euro 21,00 – Traduzione di Marco Franca
Fermo immagine:
“Blend in with them, embrace their customs and experience as they do! And I recommend you… behave properly, always!”
Lazzarin ha compiuto un piccolo miracolo. Non pago di una visione scintillante e meditata, ricca, vitale e carica di suggestioni, è riuscito a metterla in atto con coerenza e concretezza. Facendo ricorso alle risorse del crowfunding, con sommo stile e serietà, l’autore ha avuto modo di stampare una “copia conforme” al suo ideale, celebrato a furia di inventiva e personalità. Già diviso fra animazione, video e pittura, Lazzarin in questo volume rilancia un’idea di intrattenimento che annulla alla sorgente le divisioni tra cultura “alta” e lowbrow. Aminoacid Boy… deve infatti la sua riuscita tanto all’apparentemente lineare, ma ricchissimo e peculiare, comparto grafico e visivo, quanto alle vere e proprie derive narrative e “linguistiche” che porta nel cuore. Cronaca dell’alieno, dell’altro, del diverso che s’affaccia sul nostro mondo, più che mostrare un percorso di formazione o iniziazione il volume assomiglia a un conte philosophique per immagini, dove (s)ragionare a dovere sull’essere umano e quanto lo definisce. Per farlo, l’autore sceglie di frullare Chagall a furia di acidi e DMT, infilandoci a viva forza Francis Bacon, E. Munch, H. Bosch, il pop surrealista, la felice e caotica spinta creativa di un autore controcorrente quale Tom Bunk, cover di dischi, le visioni di Ed Wood e chissà cos’altro. Al di fuori dell’azzardo di paragoni discutìbili, l’impronta visiva, fantastica nella resa dei colori e del risultato, si rivela funzionale al risultato: un pastiche bizzarro in grado di rimandare al lettore l’assurdità grottesca della civiltà umana. Che tutto questo sia il frutto di un’opera prima, con le singole tavole dipinte a mano in tecnica mista (acrilico, acquerelli, chine, colori ad olio), pare un invito spicciolo al piacere e all’attesa del prossimo parto. Da supportare con tutto il cuore, in omaggio alla libertà creativa e all’indipendenza editoriale.
Daniele Fermerò
Lazzarin performed a small miracle. Not satisfied with a sparkling and meditated vision, rich, vital and full of suggestions, he managed to implement it with coherence and concreteness. Using the resources of crowdfunding, with great style and seriousness, the author was able to print a “compliant copy” of his ideal, celebrated by dint of inventiveness and personality. Already divided between animation, video and painting, Lazzarin in this volume relaunches an idea of entertainment that cancels the divisions between “high” and lowbrow culture at its source. In fact, Aminoacid Boy… owes its success as much to the apparently linear, but very rich and peculiar, graphic and visual sector, as to the real narrative and “linguistic” drifts that it carries in its heart. Chronicle of the alien, of the other, of the different that faces our world, rather than showing a path of training or initiation, the volume resembles a conte philosophique for images, where (s)reason properly about the human being and what defines it. To do this, the author chooses to blend Chagall with acids and DMT, forcefully inserting Francis Bacon, E. Munch, H. Bosch, surrealist pop, the happy and chaotic creative drive of a counter-current author such as Tom Bunk, record covers, visions of Ed Wood and who knows what else. Apart from the risk of questionable comparisons, the visual imprint, fantastic in the rendering of the colors and the result, proves to be functional to the result: a bizarre pastiche able to remind the reader of the grotesque absurdity of human civilization. That all of this is the result of a first work, with the single panels painted by hand in mixed techniques (acrylic, watercolours, inks, oil colours), seems like a small invitation to pleasure and to wait for the next birth. To be supported wholeheartedly, in homage to creative freedom and editorial independence.
Daniele Fermerò
DIEGO LAZZARIN
MUNSTER INQUISITION
Ultrabrutalmania Raidspacebattle
Milica Ivić
My life was miserable. A life of a shabby, second-grade monster. Same boring monster routine every day, same dirty taverns with toothless drunk monsters arguing and throwing glands at each other. No job. no girlfriend, no perspective. I was not meant to get out of that shiihole. Was I composed of distinctive disparate components? No. Were my muscles and bones and arteries exposed on the surface of my body? No. Was I frightening at first glance? No, not at all. Miserable creature.
I didn’t have an idea what to do with my life. Everything seemed pointless for my generation. The welfare state was gone, the big consumerist dream vanished, and endless drug and sex psychedelia worked no more. There was simply no solution. If anyone asked me back then where I would choose to be. I would just say: wherever. But then a new rumor came to town. Everyone was talking about it. It was the next big thing, the dream of every young monster who had any self-respect. No one really knew what it was about, but you could hear it everywhere: Ultrabrutalmania Raidspacebattle!
It started to burn my imagination. It was roasting my desires like a fine old acid on exposed membranes. Apparently, it was a monster heaven, placed in between volcanoes and deserts, where mutants could show oft and go into a real battle.
That was my chance! I had no idea how to get there, but I was about to find out. I was obsessed, but focused! I was going mad, but determined to succeed. I was asking around and was listening to every conversation in the city just to get lo know who was behind this project.
And there it was. a legend, a myth, a shady figure of a guy called Diego.
Diego was good at hiding, but his activities were tracked. His movements appeared on the market. Information about him could be exchanged for some valuable goods. I paid a dozen of tzantzas for a chance to see him. I was given coordinates for his meeting with come Serbian “gallerists” who were willing to host Diego and the monster flock and use them for their dubious purposes.
He became known as the Monster Daddy. The monsters loved Diego and he loved them back. They became a loyal flock, well-trained, well-organized and ready to kill. But everyone knew that his monsters were so damn handsome. Well built, well dressed, with finest accessories, with a killing attitude. I was never meant to be a part of that good-looking crowd. I just did not have that appeal! The rumor went that he used knowledge of dental radiology and manipulation of x-rays to adapt the monsters he chose for the battle. He was picking ihem up at dirty bars, dark alleys and suburbs and transforming them into stars of Ultrabrutalmania! I was hoping I could get through his makeover treatment.
I knew I was The One for the Raidspacebattle. I was training myself to win any arcade battle with those ignorant fucks, splitting their asses on comfortable chairs while holding joysticks and pretending to kill monsters. Hold on you fart-catchers! I am about to show you the real battle! I was practicing levitation and shooting, appearing from the far right and lower left corner. I was multiplying my skills every day – improving side vision by avoiding vehicles on the highway while zigzagging in opposite directions, counting backwards while reciting the Catalog of ships from Homer’s Iliad and mixing highly saturated acids.
I was strong and fit and I just had to find Diego first and get his attention. It was hard to get to him. No one knew him. He was not part of the comic publishing establishment, he could not be found in underground communities. He played by his own rules, surrounded by his monster friends.
Diego was good at hiding, but his activities were tracked. His movements appeared on the market. Information about him could be exchanged for some valuable goods. I paid a dozen of tzantzas for a chance to see him. I was given coordinates for his meeting with come Serbian “gallerists” who were willing to host Diego and the monster flock and use them for their dubious purposes.
I really didn’t like that guy Diego at first glance. His face looked suspicious. He seemed kind, but everything I know about him was telling me I should be careful. He was not easily tricked.
I went to the designated location, disguised, hidden, listening into Diego talking:
Person 1: Diego, it is too hard to survive. Couple of people tried and they could hardly get to the hippies.
Person 2: Yes. life just goes on shrinking and nothing is helping it out! Situation is desperate.
Person 1: Something like real life.
Person 2: We are all doomed! With larvae or without them.
Diego: Oooooh… OK. I will figure it out next week… maybe I will make it easier with less enemies
Person 2: Let us live longer!
Diego: OK… maybe I witl make the enemies cause less damage… I will think of a solution!
Person 1: How many places are there? Monsters, larvae, hippies, how many like this?
Diego: I think u more and then a final Boss. But you can recharge energy while you go.
Person 2: How?
Diego: There are some sort of pink meatballs. You shoot them and recharge.
Person 1: OK. let us know when you have some changes done!
OK! The game has not still reached its final phase. It was still in the process! I could still get in! As I knew we were made for each other. I was determined to use the moment. I was waiting for Diego to start leaving the place and I threw mysell in from of him. Imitating ultracerebralmania to the point I was starting to really feel it. I was shaking and my body was decomposing like a boiled gum. Diego, weak as he was on monster suffering, ran to me to soothe the attack.
Diego said gently: Hey shorty, what’s up? This day is quite fine, isn’t it?
I screamed: I’m dead. I think I am dead!
Diego had a comforting look and I saw understanding in his eyes: What makes you think you are dead? Is it me?
I screamed even harder: Nooo! It’s not you! It is about my lungs. I am breathing backwards. The process is completely reversed! The air is being squeezed out of the alveoli when it should be there feeding the blood with oxygen. I am doomed!
Diego asked: Did it ever happen to you before? What can I do to help?
I was getting some ideas, but continued to scream loudly: No, this is the first time ever. Normally. I am fit and fixed. I am strong and in good shape. I can win a battle! (I partly calmed) There might be one thing that you can do to help?
Diego was curious: What would that be?
People that gathered around us were already continuing on their way, as it was clear that the attack I was having was over.
I whispered: You could take me with you and make me your monster! I can be part of your unbeatable squad in Ultrabrutalmania! I can fight them all.
Diego was smiling: OK, I have a proposition. I take you on a mission with me to see what you are made of? It would be a special mission. Hard, but exciting. We are going to Belgrade to fight the Old Wave that wants to take people to the New Era. Ewwww. Disgusting!
My eyes were radiating and my heart was beating in the rhythm of Tibetan drums: Carry me. lead me! The Old Wave has no chance against us. We will not be soaked in the retrograde shit soup of that wave.
Diego nodded: Promise!
And we were already on our way to 44.8125° N. 20.4612″ E.
remont.net
Diego Lazzarin is one of the artists I have grown familiar with recently. Clicking my way onto his website I was immediately struck by the raw application of paint’s that created images that looked like the harlequin child of a Marc Chagall painting for the illustrations in his debut Graphic Novel ‘Amino Acid Boy and The Chaos Order’. Lazzarin gives a brief outline of the book which follows Amino Acid Boy a creature sent to earth by his lord a Bio-Architectural-Metal-Meat-Machine that lives in a dark cave in outer space. Whilst on earth Amino Acid Boy‘s aim is to understand individual human desires by assimilating in himself the DNA of humans in order to understand their way of thinking outside of basic biological survival instincts which the lord finds incredibly illogical. With this transition of understanding in Amino Acid Boy various interesting scenarios promise to unfold.
Stephen Morton
Digging further through the website I came across Lazzarin‘s animated videos. The videos stuck firmly in my head as an odd sickly coloured dew biologically infused cyber reality reminiscent of early mid-90’s video game cutscenes but in no way pastiche of retro style graphics but more so a progressive affirmation of this kind of aesthetic that he occupies very well, a world seemingly steeped in a sticky energy drink formula. One of my favourite of his video pieces though is for Lazzarin‘s electronic music project Microwavewerewolves, the video and song Hagiography of Porn infuses a hot and frantic piece of electro music with a warped out and rehashed 70’s porno flick watched with bangers and mash, the result is both equally disturbing and hilarious.
Another video for a song Voglio Amore is a short and sweet horror chase involving a young terrified woman being tracked through a forest by a giant flying insect creature that then persists to dismember the women with venomous flames before defecating maggots into her pulped out stubs.
With the 160 page ‘Amino Acid Boy and The Chaos Order’ Graphic Novel almost complete after three years of work and the aim for a crowd funding in May it would be worth while subscribing for updates on Lazzarin‘s website to get involved in the realisation of this project. Also while your there check out his videos, music and other work on instagram.com/diego__lazzarin
LÖPÇÜK 