Mecha Birth Art Book 1
Review by Dave Wolff
Author: Frank "Arte Mortifica" Garcia
The inner cover of Mecha Birth contains this quote by Mario Savio: "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious." Savio was a renowned activist who was involved in the Berkeley free speech movement. This statement is almost prophetic considering how modern technology, for all its potential to better mankind, is used instead to placate the masses with gadgets and gizmos that become obsolete too soon. I heard Ray Bradbury predicted technology heading in this direction at one point as well. Perhaps Frank Garcia found value in what Savio had to say while compiling this book of his artwork. Samples of his work have appeared in AEA zine and in some collaborations with other contributing writers including Rich Orth. This is the first anthology he has released independently. A recurring theme in Frank’s art is the contrast between machinery and man, shown in a nightmarish way that sometimes suggests the likes of H.R. Giger (as on the front cover which depicts an Alienlike creature fused into an extraterrestrial object). The blend of flat surfaces, sharp edges and warped humanoids in a streamlined format is simultaneously otherworldly, horrific and breathtaking, blurring all the lines between organic and man-made until both seem to become one in the end. Frank Garcia is also the guitarist of Nekropsy and Waking Chaos. He can be reached at http://www.facebook.com/100002218634275.