SELINSGROVE -- The artwork of W.R. Hart is difficult to describe.

The words distorted and grotesque come to mind. Weird at the very least. And certainly provocative.

Though our meeting lasted less than an hour, I doubt Hart will be offended by any of the words I've chosen to describe his art.

"Art should not be subtle," Hart said. "It should smack you in the head."

Paneling the walls of the newly opened Eternal Artworks Ink are more than 60 of Hart's portraits.

Nearly all of them, Hart says, deal with the oft-exploited female form.

Many of them are reminiscent of the Body Works art exhibit that displays the plastinated bodies of the deceased. One looks like Beetlejuice. Another like Tyra Banks -- really.

His photo collages -- including one of a soft-porn image escaping the body of the Virgin Mary -- are just as risque.

It's natural for any onlooker to search for a message, some kind of meaning behind these strange, twisted portraits. But according to Hart, they're crafted with no message in mind.

"An artist should not be political in their work because then they're prostituting it," he said. "Let (the audience) bring their own (message)."

His work hasn't gone over well with everyone.

Sculptures placed in the windows of Eternal Artworks Ink on a Friday night were reversed the next Monday morning after passersby were offended by the mannequin forms with bunches on fruit between the legs, including one with a forked apple.

Hart was amused.

"My works have been bought by people who know that art should be more than filling a blank wall or a blank corner," Hart said. "Without the human figure, you have nothing else. We can get no inspiration or meaning from the natural world. We can only get it from ourselves."

Hart's exhibit is part of Selinsgrove's First Friday series that kicks off tomorrow.