Machine Madness: The Beautiful Creepy Crawlies of Mike Libby
Studio shot
.
By Jesse Horn
There is something elegant and whimsical about Mike Libby’s art. It captures the core essence of boyhood fantasy, combining two unlikely, yet perfectly matched concepts: Robots, and bugs. His masterful unification of these very different ideas bring to life a magical, delicate, and strange world where he meticulously weaves fantasy and reality together.
Black Rhino Dynastidae: Chalcosoma Atlas 5” wide Rhino beetle customized with antique brass watchparts and red LED.
Oddities spoke to Mr. Libby about his unique form of art, and about some little known facts regarding his other pursuits.
“I studied in sculpture,” Libby began. “I originally went to school to major in illustration, but saw there being a more hands on appeal doing sculptural work. But I think strangely the illustration is still kind of fit in as far as the designing and composing in a whimsical manner.”
Buprestidae Buprestidae: Euchroma Giganate 3.5” wide Jewel beetle customized with brass watchparts and gears.
Mr. Libby explained that the process itself is pretty laborious and requires an abundance of patience. “Obviously because the insect, the framework I am building upon, is so fragile in the first place. But it’s gotten to the point now where I’ve developed kind of a strange instinct for the materials and for the design. Its pretty intuitive at this point.”
Butterfly Morphidae: Achilles Patrrocles, 4.5” wide Morpho butterfly customized with steel watchparts, gears, springs and blue LED.
Because of the fragile nature of what he is working with Mike revealed that there are plenty of times when the insect might fall apart or loose a limb.
Dragonfly Odonata: Anax Junius, 4.5” wide Dragonfly customized with steel antique watchparts, gears and lighter nozzles.
“There are stupid mistakes all the time,” he laughed, “or just basic accidents. Usually the things that break are not the parts that I add to them but usually the insect bodies. I’ve glued legs on and different antennas on. There have been bumblebees that I have done that done have any of their original legs. I always say, yah, I know there is someone out there who is counting to see if there is actually six legs…I better make sure there are six legs. I believe in being thorough,” he laughed again.
Grasshopper Orthoptera:Tropidacris Dux, 5” long African grasshopper customized with antique steel/brass watchparts, gears and springs.
Libby said that there is really no secret to how he works or what he does other then patience.
“I’m not going to give away a recipe or something, I’m not concerned about that. It is basically glue, because if I was to use any heat method like soldering or wielding…one its too small to weld, and two, the heat itself would burn the insect bodies. So I’m kind of the antichrist of metal smiths…using glue to hold my stuff together…but it works, and its durable and I’ve found some pretty strong glues that also marry the metal and the insect bodies well.”
Mantis 3.5” long Praying Mantis customized with brass watchparts, gears and glow in the dark dial.
As far as the insects themselves, Libby says that he gets them from specialized licensed dealers and these individuals work with people who are trained in finding specialized insects in different regions.
Scorpion Arachnidae: Heterometrus Spinifer 5” long Scorpion customized with antique steel watchparts, gears and springs.
“The suppliers have a good visual menu and the past couple of years I have learned enough species type and nomenclature, and a little bit of Latin is applied to insect names, to know more or less how to search for things. It kind of goes with my visual nature basically to look at something that esthetically looks cool…you know, especially if I get into something big, or if I get into maybe something that isn’t really so big but has really beautiful colors or patterns on it.”
Libby also illudes on his website that he is involved in other areas of art. Oddities asked him about this and how it relates to his other work.
“Its kind of the thing that I am constantly trying to balance, with InsectLab and the production of that, is my other work. My other work doesn’t make any money, and its not in the commercial field. It’s not fashion or ceramics or anything like that, but it’s still what I consider kind of a pure studio investigation of just playing with materials and assembling things. I know that sounds pretty vague, but I’ve been thinking about it and thought, you know I think that’s mostly what artists do: They take materials, rip them apart and then put them back together…no mater what they are. Even with illustration your taking pigments from one area and putting them back in another. Yah, my other work is kind of sculptural in nature sometimes, it depends on the piece and it depends on the idea. Sometimes it’s collage work.”
He went on to say that even with its indefinable form, it still does not fall into the category of abstract.
“That’s the other thing,” he continued, “You know I can’t get into abstraction. I feel the need to get into things that are recognizable. If you look at the work at InsectLab, it’s kind of an illusion. I’m making these things that kind of look like real robotic insects. Some of my other work for example, I have been working on this piece for years that hasn’t quite manifested it self the way I want to yet…It’s a big sand castle made entirely of sand paper. I’ll be playing with materials in kind of a joking manner, but also playing with fantasy or daydreaming, or a reference narrative of some sort. Other pieces…doing a video projection of a ship inside a bottle. I’m actually putting the ship inside the bottle. I’m playing with the tricks of tricks.”
Libby stated that he has a fair amount of these pieces completed, but stressed that its been a matter of balancing the work with InsectLab, self promotion, and the exhibition of the other work. He stated that he keeps the works very distinct.
As far as purchasing his work it is also a personal experience.
“Primarily it’s through me, direct person to person contact. I don’t put up a shopping cart feature because I want to engage people and want to have conversations with them. I do craft shows which is kind of a strange venue for my work to be in. It’s fitting because I don’t have to constantly look for galleries.”
Libby said that the response to his work has been very positive.
“People are pretty tickled by what they see and I’ve done maybe 12 or 13 of those shows in the last 3 or 4 years, so there are some people in certain areas who may have seen my work before or have seen it online and are anticipating it. Then there are others who have never been to a craft show or this is their first time back in a while, and come across it. Some times they are grossed or creeped out, but the majority of people seem pretty enchanted by it.”
As far as the style and inspiration, Mike stressed that he is not into shook, only into creating what he enjoys to see.
“I’m not into doing anything that seems grotesque. I think very often its a card played with a certain type of subject matter that’s easy. It’s like making some kind of jakalope or chipmonk type creature, you know, it’s not appealing to me.”
ISSN 2159-4708
Machine Madness: The Beautiful Creepy Crawlies of Mike Libby
Studio shot
.
By Jesse Horn
There is something elegant and whimsical about Mike Libby’s art. It captures the core essence of boyhood fantasy, combining two unlikely, yet perfectly matched concepts: Robots, and bugs. His masterful unification of these very different ideas bring to life a magical, delicate, and strange world where he meticulously weaves fantasy and reality together.
Black Rhino Dynastidae: Chalcosoma Atlas 5” wide Rhino beetle customized with antique brass watchparts and red LED.
Oddities spoke to Mr. Libby about his unique form of art, and about some little known facts regarding his other pursuits.
“I studied in sculpture,” Libby began. “I originally went to school to major in illustration, but saw there being a more hands on appeal doing sculptural work. But I think strangely the illustration is still kind of fit in as far as the designing and composing in a whimsical manner.”
Buprestidae Buprestidae: Euchroma Giganate 3.5” wide Jewel beetle customized with brass watchparts and gears.
Mr. Libby explained that the process itself is pretty laborious and requires an abundance of patience. “Obviously because the insect, the framework I am building upon, is so fragile in the first place. But it’s gotten to the point now where I’ve developed kind of a strange instinct for the materials and for the design. Its pretty intuitive at this point.”
Butterfly Morphidae: Achilles Patrrocles, 4.5” wide Morpho butterfly customized with steel watchparts, gears, springs and blue LED.
Because of the fragile nature of what he is working with Mike revealed that there are plenty of times when the insect might fall apart or loose a limb.
Dragonfly Odonata: Anax Junius, 4.5” wide Dragonfly customized with steel antique watchparts, gears and lighter nozzles.
“There are stupid mistakes all the time,” he laughed, “or just basic accidents. Usually the things that break are not the parts that I add to them but usually the insect bodies. I’ve glued legs on and different antennas on. There have been bumblebees that I have done that done have any of their original legs. I always say, yah, I know there is someone out there who is counting to see if there is actually six legs…I better make sure there are six legs. I believe in being thorough,” he laughed again.
Grasshopper Orthoptera:Tropidacris Dux, 5” long African grasshopper customized with antique steel/brass watchparts, gears and springs.
Libby said that there is really no secret to how he works or what he does other then patience.
“I’m not going to give away a recipe or something, I’m not concerned about that. It is basically glue, because if I was to use any heat method like soldering or wielding…one its too small to weld, and two, the heat itself would burn the insect bodies. So I’m kind of the antichrist of metal smiths…using glue to hold my stuff together…but it works, and its durable and I’ve found some pretty strong glues that also marry the metal and the insect bodies well.”
Mantis 3.5” long Praying Mantis customized with brass watchparts, gears and glow in the dark dial.
As far as the insects themselves, Libby says that he gets them from specialized licensed dealers and these individuals work with people who are trained in finding specialized insects in different regions.
Scorpion Arachnidae: Heterometrus Spinifer 5” long Scorpion customized with antique steel watchparts, gears and springs.
“The suppliers have a good visual menu and the past couple of years I have learned enough species type and nomenclature, and a little bit of Latin is applied to insect names, to know more or less how to search for things. It kind of goes with my visual nature basically to look at something that esthetically looks cool…you know, especially if I get into something big, or if I get into maybe something that isn’t really so big but has really beautiful colors or patterns on it.”
Libby also illudes on his website that he is involved in other areas of art. Oddities asked him about this and how it relates to his other work.
“Its kind of the thing that I am constantly trying to balance, with InsectLab and the production of that, is my other work. My other work doesn’t make any money, and its not in the commercial field. It’s not fashion or ceramics or anything like that, but it’s still what I consider kind of a pure studio investigation of just playing with materials and assembling things. I know that sounds pretty vague, but I’ve been thinking about it and thought, you know I think that’s mostly what artists do: They take materials, rip them apart and then put them back together…no mater what they are. Even with illustration your taking pigments from one area and putting them back in another. Yah, my other work is kind of sculptural in nature sometimes, it depends on the piece and it depends on the idea. Sometimes it’s collage work.”
He went on to say that even with its indefinable form, it still does not fall into the category of abstract.
“That’s the other thing,” he continued, “You know I can’t get into abstraction. I feel the need to get into things that are recognizable. If you look at the work at InsectLab, it’s kind of an illusion. I’m making these things that kind of look like real robotic insects. Some of my other work for example, I have been working on this piece for years that hasn’t quite manifested it self the way I want to yet…It’s a big sand castle made entirely of sand paper. I’ll be playing with materials in kind of a joking manner, but also playing with fantasy or daydreaming, or a reference narrative of some sort. Other pieces…doing a video projection of a ship inside a bottle. I’m actually putting the ship inside the bottle. I’m playing with the tricks of tricks.”
Libby stated that he has a fair amount of these pieces completed, but stressed that its been a matter of balancing the work with InsectLab, self promotion, and the exhibition of the other work. He stated that he keeps the works very distinct.
As far as purchasing his work it is also a personal experience.
“Primarily it’s through me, direct person to person contact. I don’t put up a shopping cart feature because I want to engage people and want to have conversations with them. I do craft shows which is kind of a strange venue for my work to be in. It’s fitting because I don’t have to constantly look for galleries.”
Libby said that the response to his work has been very positive.
“People are pretty tickled by what they see and I’ve done maybe 12 or 13 of those shows in the last 3 or 4 years, so there are some people in certain areas who may have seen my work before or have seen it online and are anticipating it. Then there are others who have never been to a craft show or this is their first time back in a while, and come across it. Some times they are grossed or creeped out, but the majority of people seem pretty enchanted by it.”
As far as the style and inspiration, Mike stressed that he is not into shook, only into creating what he enjoys to see.
“I’m not into doing anything that seems grotesque. I think very often its a card played with a certain type of subject matter that’s easy. It’s like making some kind of jakalope or chipmonk type creature, you know, it’s not appealing to me.”