Biography of Theo Edmonds
I
believe that what we see... is never what we see! We bring to
whatever we are viewing or experiencing our own individual lifetime
of definitions. Definitions that have fluid boundaries from one
person to another the world over. Because I bring the world into my
art in content as well as form, my work is mostly large in scale. I
have an inclusive vision - generous, engaged and physically
extroverted. I believe that painting relates to both art and life.
Neither can be "made". Just as my most important creative influences
- Robert Rauschenberg, Jackson Pollock, Jean Michael Basquiat, John
Tuska, Henry Faulkner and Dolly Parton - I try to act as the gap
between the two.
I am someone who redefines beauty by looking at the things that we
thought were ugly or that had grown too familiar "to be seen" for
their innate aesthetic beauty. I am drawn to an artistic approach
that values chance over structured sequence and totally rejects
polarities of good and bad, ugly and beautiful. Everything is
subsumed by ultimate oneness. Hierarchies and judgements are
irrelevant because nothing is "better" than anything else. I believe
that art is not a privileged activity different from life. Rather,
art becomes an act within life itself.
My work is socially conscious and often takes on sexual, religious
and political themes but in a playfully sarcastic way. The immediate
purpose of these pieces - which range from explorations of street
art, erotica, punk poetry and performance, hillbilly subculture,
political manifestos and conceptual installations - is to respond to
the character and content of the community of which I am a part at
any given point in my life. However, I bring to these current
expressions of a moment in time, my own lifetime of experiences,
choices, insights and definitions. I am fascinated by the
convergence of surface level distinctions of viewpoints and
cultures. I am even more intrigued by the masks of secrecy and
hypocrisy that are often donned by individuals in an ego-driven,
fear-based attempt to simultaneously harmonize and control the
expressive and creative nature of a community of which an individual
chooses to be a part.
I present my visual observations on such subject matter through a
potent and unflinching combine of primal and physical painting
techniques with an omnipresent world-weary point of view. My work
and approach have, at the same time, a mass culture viewpoint ripe
with an emerging underground rebellion against mainstream. These two
influences harmoniously collide into a single, cohesive, organic
"story telling" message in my work which is meant to challenge the
viewer. The challenge, however, comes not through a direct assault
as to the rightness or wrongness of the viewer's set of definitions
by which they have chosen to live their life. The challenge comes by
adding another meaning to the definitional set of values which the
viewer holds.
My world is one of expansion, abundance and limitlessness. Through
my art, I invite the viewer to step onto a bridge from a fear-based,
scarcity-defined world and take the first step in considering what
might be possible through the small but difficult act of a change in
their own perception.
The Artist Life by Theo Edmonds
It started out as an old rock fence (by a winding bluegrass horse farm) with spirits rising from the fence. It was really awesome. Then, an old civil war era figure of a slave in chains building the rock fence appeared. Then, another figure of a man on a horse emerged behind the slave. From there, the painting took on ominous undertones. My friend couldn't deal with the images sprouting from his subconscious, so he killed them. He destroyed the painting by wiping all the 'bad and scary' away with a white wash over the whole canvas.
Some artists are able to embrace their darker side and engage in a passionate act of creating that is scary to some folks. I suppose I can understand why intense and passionate art making - the kind that does not have the word 'pretty' as adjective in front of any of the artist's goals - might intimidate some people. Some subject matter is just hard to get through, and a good piece of art does have an impact on its audience. Everything we see, hear, taste, touch, or smell changes a piece of us before its through.
However, I believe every piece of art out there deserves to be put out in the public sphere, so everyone out there can make up their own minds. Even if a piece makes me or anyone else uncomfortable. We live in a society where we attempt to insulate ourselves from any bad feelings. We often engage in the practice of categorizing or 'pigeon holing' folks who do things in such an intense and unconventional way that it makes us uncomfortable. When we are made uncomfortable, it often forces us to analyze our own state of being and reason for existing. When we are made uncomfortable, it often forces us to take inventory of the set of definitions that we have chosen to use in defining the world around us and, thereby, our role in it. I am not writing here about 'shock art'. Shocking someone is easy and I personally do not consider it to take any great kind of creative genius to do so. I am writing here about passionately living to one's own purpose and putting one's self 'out there' for public scrutiny as many artists have the bravery to do.
An artist's life is one of inquisitive exploration. An artist's life is one of creative deconstruction of a lifetime of situational and conventional definitions that have been 'hardwired' into us all from birth. As an artist tears at his soul to better understand his purpose in life in order to move him to a state of truly conscious living, it is more often than not an ugly process. He does things that are not pretty to himself and in the process, may do things that are unkind to others. However, if he uses his art to turn this information and awareness into an insightful knowledge of himself - and, thereby, an intellectually honest and purposeful knowledge of the motivations and intent behind all human actions - here is where a true artist is knighted as a defender of the precious and fragile human condition that binds us all one to another. The artist, the rebel, the defender - then bravely goes into uncharted territory on behalf us all. Just as in the Crusades, he goes there to save his own soul as well. He goes there to provide a safe setting and passage, like allowing us to view a work of art or sharing with us a live art performance, so we can all take things that are scary - yet exist in each of us - and bring them into the objective light and safety of looking at them in the realm of 'art'. The art and the artist are the conduits for us all to be able to encounter scary, bad feelings. The art and the artist do not mean to threaten us. The art and the artist does, however, challenge us to grow.
As a person, I have made many mistakes in my past. As an artist, I have turned my mistakes into learned lessons and become stronger.
As a person, I have done things in my past of which I have not been proud. As an artist, I proudly do what I can with the blessings I have.
As a person, I have succumbed to personal demons in my past. As an artist, I have brought my demons into the light where they have no power over me.
As a person, I have been fueled in the past by my own ego-centric needs. As an artist, I am fueled by the need to connect with others and provide light without vanity and love without condition.
As a person, it has surprised me how passion and intentional living is viewed as dangerous by others. As an artist, it has shown me that there truly is something wrong with my community.
As a person, it hurts. As an artist, it drives me even harder to help us find remedies.
Are you worried about what the future holds and feel like you can't control things like they need to be controlled? Why not reach out to others who have different points of view and take the leap of faith in creating a future that is not meant to be controlled by any one point of view but crafted by the glorious rifts that are found as our views of the future bump into one another. It occurs to me that by bumping against one another in the first place that we may be closer to agreement than ever considered. Even if it's just for therapy - even if the outcome disturbs you and will never see the light of day - Why not sit down together and ask each other, "What if".
I am part Cherokee and I can remember a story I heard when I was a
kid that went something like this. One evening an old Cherokee told
his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My
son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is
Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority, and ego.
The
other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and
faith."
The
grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The
old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."