Marion Glass: Senior Portfolio: Artist: William Steinman

I struggled to find someone to blog about this week. I seem to spend every weekend searching for a new collage artist, when I should probably look at more than that. This week I decided to go for a more general criteria - mixed media - rather than strictly collage. After all, mixed media often involves collage, and I'm considering allowing Henry to draw and paint on my collages, which would throw them into that category as well.

This week, I found William Steinman. It's funny that I'm drawn to his work, because it all seems to stem from things I'm not interested in - like graffiti and comic books. However, his Comic Flesh series caught my eye and held it. I'm particularly interested in the function of color in this work, and how all of the various elements mesh on the plane. If I hadn't read the titles, it would have taken me a very long time to realize that these works include images of comic book heroes and villains (look close - they do!)

Steinman explains his process and the origins of his work in his statement:

I have always been addicted to street culture. When I was young, I would take my skateboard out all day and ride around downtown Phoenix. As I explored the city, I began noticing the incredible array of graffiti around me, and seeing all of this sparked something in me. Soon I merged right into the world of graffiti art. I focused on nothing but painting and photographing graffiti. Eventually I began to feel that graffiti was becoming increasingly dangerous and redundant, and then I started studying painting.

Given my early obsession with graffiti, I made a natural progression to the bold lines and appropriated images of Pop art. I found myself more attracted to Warhol’s prints of fatalities and Lichtenstein’s blown up comic images, than to the Keith Harring and Basquiat pieces that my high school art teachers were always pushing on me. Moving to New York after college got me very interested in the work of artists like Richard Prince and Christopher Wool, as well as the everyday art I see on the streets.

I call my work the dark side of Pop. I employ blown up images, modern store bought objects, found materials, lots of comic books, and combine it all together with industrial glue. My work relies on my reaction to the images I find, and my intention is to make each image louder and not so easily overlooked. Just like as with the ready-mades, I let anyone do the work of manufacturing the image, but my work begins in observing and altering it. These newer images can make me nauseous, while at the same time conjuring a feeling of nostalgia—I want to present them this way.

A few of my favorites from Comic Flesh are posted below. Please see Steinman's website for more images and information.