A "cult figure" is a person whose image has become a symbol which transcends the meaning of the original image. The best way to describe them is as an "in joke" taken way too far. Every year the cult figure selection committee would choose a person to become the Cult Figure of the Year. Then, we would make a bunch of stuff with this person's face on it. Usually the person is selected because of the comical expression on his or her face, not because we have anything against them. Readers are asked to send in their own interpretation of the cult figure as well. Cult figures are usually just ordinary people who are not famous in any way (until we make them temporarily famous).
Arnold is Arnold Horshack (played by actor Ron Palillo) on the 70's TV show Welcome Back Kotter. The idea for Arnold as a cult figure came from a "Horshack Ink Blot Test" I created as a bad pun. The question I would ask people when showing them the image is "What Sweathog do you see in this image?". Here are my collages and the contributions of other mail artists.
Arnold the Giant
(click links to see images)
Arnold the Giant (Default
Image)
Hermaphrodite
Arnold
Here Comes The
Bride...
Arnold at Camp
Muckety-Muck
Arnold's Sure Fire Cure for
Hammer Toe
by Kurt Beaulieu:
Arnold is
Watching
by Bruno Gheerbrant:
Xerographie
Aleatoire
(Bruno's piece is an invention of his. The pieces float behind plexiglass in a shadow box, so
each copy can be a unique piece of art. Write to him for instructions
on how to build your own.)
by J. C. Synthetics:
It's Just Like Wearing
Glasses
by P.J.M.:
Swirly Arnold
by Henk Van Ooijen:
The Arnold Cow
by Carl Oxley #3:
Arnold: Goddess of the
Sea
by Martin Petersen:
Tribal Arnold
by Laura Poll:
Arnold
Christ
Arnoldmeister
Three Girls Compare Their Tans to
Arnold's
by K. D. Schmitz
Arnold
McDonald
(K.D. Points out that "Arnold" is an anagram of
"Ronald")
by Pete Spence:
No Arnold, But a Cool Collage
Anyway
by Eric Thompson:
Arnold Meets The X-Files on
the Planet of the Apes
by Cornelis Vleeskens:
No Arnold, But
Another Cool Collage
by Karen Wood:
Happy New
Yearnold!
Kurt Beaulieu, PO Box 32166 Succ. Atriums, Montreal, Quebec H2L 4Y5, Canada
Bruno Gheerbrant, 41-43 rue des Rigoles, 75020 Paris, France
J. C. Synthetics, 8 Clarkson St., Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2J0, U.K.
P. J. M., PO Box 2632, Bellingham, WA 98227-2632, USA
Henk Van Ooijen, Vlinderveen 258, 3205 EJ, Spykenisse, Holland
Carl Oxley #3, PO Box 426, Cheboygan, MI 49721, USA
Martin Petersen, Vorregaardsalle #82, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark
Laura Poll, PO Box 703, Navesink, NJ 07752, USA
K.D. Schmitz, PO Box 1806, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, USA
Pete Spence, 40 Bramwell St, Ocean Grove 3226, Victoria, Australia
Eric Thompson, 3023 N. Hyde Ave., Panama City, FL 32405, USA
Cornelis Vleeskens, 50 Coral Street, Cape Paterson 3995, Australia
Karen Wood, PO Box 756, Big Bear Lake, CA, 92315-0756, USA
