Artist Statement
This exhibit was inspired by a photograph that appeared in the Fresno Bee of a homeless person under freeway 41. This body of work started out as a one class assignment for advanced painting, but soon grew to five art classes involving more than 200 McLane student artists. Artwork was inspired from a book written by a local contractor, Kalem Kazarian about his experience of living homeless traveling around the US after his graduation from Cal Poly. Kazarian shared excerpts from his book and other stories with McLane student artists. The artwork was executed in a variety of media assemblage using recycled door panels as canvasses and includes portraits, urban inner city architectural/environmental components, homeless interiors, personal items, trash and artwork based on written texts. The installation also includes a homeless shanty gallery imbedded with 40 pieces of art. The door paintings utilized mixed media ranging from acrylic paint, latex paint, found objects from the Fresno homeless encampment, fabric, cardboard, and other ephemera.
Project Details
Mixed media installation: paintings, assemblage, drawings, murals
Exhibit: Fresno Pacific University and Fresno Art Museum (2009-2011)
Sixty recycled doors were used as supports. Images came from photographs taken primarily of the Fresno encampment near the Freeway 41 overpass. The door panels were assembled in the exhibit to replicate how the homeless erected their shanty homes. We also built a shanty gallery, an 8 x 10 foot room out of found materials. The outside was covered in murals of local homeless people. Inside the shanty artwork was embedded in the walls.
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