By: Chris Stead
Art of the Oblong Box
The Art of Denialle Chabot
Welcome to the world of dark arts and crafts. Welcome to the land on which the preschool macaroni crafter would not dare tread. This is the realm where Denialle Chabot lives. Call it functional art or dark crafting, but either way this is not your mother’s hand-crafted home decor.
As she puts it, Denialle has been doing art since she could hold a pencil. Art is in her genes. Her father was a sign painter, although Denialle did not start painting until about a year ago. She has been doing some traditional painting, but her latest endeavor is meat.
Denialle is not painting on meat, but rather she paints meat on boxes and jewelry. When asked why she likes to paint meat, she simply states that she has been fascinated by meat for a long time. She is a vegetarian so she doesn’t eat meat. This being the case, she doesn’t view meat as food, but rather as art like that of Mark Ryden.
Boxes may seem like a strange medium to use for painting, but Denialle likes the idea of art being functional. Beyond the functionality of boxes, she also likes the shapes that she can find boxes in, and they are fun and interesting. Aside from boxes, she has also started making necklaces and pins because she “wanted to wear meat.”
There is a deeper meaning to Denialle’s meat though. She said that she started painting meat shortly after a bad breakup. She didn’t realize it but at the time, she was painting a representation of what she felt on the inside. She felt like a piece of meat and she needed a way to express this.
Although this art is not targeted at a particular group, Denialle enjoys what she is doing and the journey that she’s on. Her brand of art seems to receive different reactions. Some people laugh, some people really like it, and some people think that she’s nuts. Denialle even said that she had someone from an animal rights group ask her to accompany them to Washington to demonstrate.
Denialle has not only painted on boxes though. She is currently taking a long break from drawing. She has also done things like zombie girl, surrealism and horror. Her art stems from a long line of non-traditional phases. Denialle has 12 years of graphic design experience which she feels also helped influence her current styles and tastes.
Due to her taste in art and the fact that Denialle has been feeling a lack of support for dark art in San Diego, she has started organizing her own shows with a couple of other artists and collectively they call themselves “The Dolly Birds.” She has done lots of craft shows and a few art shows. She even did a single fashion show at a club. Due to a bad write-up in a local magazine, Denialle no longer likes to call what she does “crafting” but rather “functional art.” No matter what she calls it, you can be sure that you will continue to see her work around San Diego and perhaps she will branch out and you could have a little bit of Denialle’s functional art in your house.
Visit Denialle online:
