Thumbtack Press - The Detroit Octopus

Back to Randomizer

Enlarge Image

The Detroit Octopus by Peter Diamond

Product Details

Add to My Favorites

0 people like this

The Detroit Octopus

Peter Diamond About this artist

ARTIST'S STATEMENT: “

This piece is one of a series of -so far- three images based on myths and stories in the world of hockey. This is one of my very favorite of hockey’s weird stories- the Detroit Octopus.The illustration shows the great Detroit goalie Terry Sawchuck in action against the Montreal Canadiens, with a little help from the infamous Octopus.

”

Email a friend

Artist's Works
Comments

More Art by Peter Diamond

Zoom

A Dream by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

A Dream
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

A Funeral by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

A Funeral
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Both Our Houses by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Both Our Houses
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Breaking The Surface by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Breaking The Surface
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Gramophobia by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Gramophobia
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Hacked by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Hacked
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Il Dottor Della Peste by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Il Dottor Della Peste
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

La Plongeuse Et Les Chauves Patates by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

La Plongeuse Et Les...
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Maol by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Maol
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

The Detroit Octopus by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

The Detroit Octopus
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

The Hand Me Down by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

The Hand Me Down
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

The Playoff Beard by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

The Playoff Beard
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

The Twins by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

The Twins
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

The Winnipeg Falcons by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

The Winnipeg Falcons
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Treading Water by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Treading Water
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites
Zoom

Utopia by Peter Diamond
Product Details Close

no ribbon

Utopia
By Peter Diamond

Buy Now Add to Favorites

“

The moment just before waking from troubled sleep. A dream that stays with you long after waking.

” “

This image, drawn for writer Michael Kimber's 'Colony Of Losers' presents a visual metaphor for the way ideas and even personalities can change with exposure or a change of environment. In this case I felt that the more exposure Michael’s story was receiving and the more his environment stabilized, the more his writing – which had been quite molten at the outset – became tempered and solidified.

” “

While hackers move unnoticed through the web, everyday users are in the dark.

” “

Old Venice fights to stay afloat.

” “

Scrubbing pots and chopping potatoes can be fertile soil for the imagination.

” “

Messages to the other side.

” “

A girl hears stories of the natural wonders that have passed out of the world in generations past.

” “

One of the superstitions which take effect in hockey come springtime, and one of the most readily visible signs of the playoff grind, is the Playoff Beard. For those who hold to the tradition, the face goes unshaven until one is eliminated from post-season play. A big beard in the playoffs is a sign of victory.
This was drawn as Roberto Luongo, famously controversial and much-maligned goaltender, and his team the Vancouver Canucks were on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

” “

Henrik and Daniel Sedin, more fondly known as Hank and Dank. are twin brothers from Sweden playing on the same Vancouver line. They have developed a nearly-psychic kind of Jedi teamwork on the ice that only brothers with identical DNA could manage, and it has resulted in their unprecedented domination of the scoreboards in the NHL. While the Sedins’ performance at the time I drew this in the 2nd round of the playoffs didn’t really justify their portrayal as headhunters amongst the skewered masks of the defeated goaltenders in their wake, I thought of it as positive visualisation. A little bit of illustrative voodoo if you will. As it happened that night’s game wasn’t quite the Sedin goal-scoring explosion I had hoped for, but Henrik did score the goal that won the Canucks their series against Nashville. Since then the brothers have returned to full form.

” “

This piece is the first in a series celebrating the history and myth of hockey. The depth to which hockey penetrates into Canadian culture and history is astounding, and what is on the surface simply a game in fact makes up a rich and storied national mythology.

The Falcons are among the first of many hallowed teams in the game’s history, and such teams and players take on the status of noble ghosts as they recede further into history. As any fan knows the game is full of such ghosts. I wanted to work from this sense of legend and myth in the image, while maintaining a certain sense of humor about it. The appearance of the players almost as descending angels is as much a representation of their status in our game’s history as it is a light-hearted joke.

The figures in the image are drawn from five of the Falcons, namely Hallie ‘Slim’ Halderson, Frank Frederickson, Connie Johanneson, Walter Byron and Bobby Benson. They carry the five Olympic rings, first used as the symbol for the 1920 Games. Below them is the city of Antwerp.

The Falcons were, as second-generation Icelanders in Canada, considered outsiders or ‘Goolies’. Their Olympic victory was an early step in opening up the game beyond its intial boundaries, a process that continues today. They are also heroes in Iceland’s hockey history, immortalized as a falcon and a maple leaf in the logo of Ice Hockey Iceland.

” “

A sudden malfunction of life’s mechanisms. Frustration, paranoia and confusion in my darkest times. The result is chaotic, absurd, and confusing but there is an underlying strength, and it’s not hopeless.

Originally drawn for Michael Kimber's 'Colony Of Losers' blog, and also appears in 'Spectrum 18- The Best Of Contemporary Fantastic Art' and the '3x3 Pro Show' annual.

” “

This piece is my take on the notion of Utopia or perfect happiness, which to me goes hand in hand with that old saying about bliss and ignorance.

”

Comments

Please sign in to post a comment.

Showing 0 comments

Cut off Date		Shipping Type
Tuesday	December 13	Ground Delivery
Friday	December 16	2-Day Air
Monday	December 19	Next Day Air