Artist Statement
"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." - Cesar A. Cruz
All my life I have felt as if I have lived in my own little world, as a child and even now. As a kid, I would always watch cartoons, play with toys, and video games and draw ALL the time. As I became older, I continued with drawing as my favorite pastime along with listening to music on a daily. My freshman year of high school, I met a guy named Ion Talfon who was a senior. He liked a song and artist that I did as well, and this interaction changed my life in art forever. We both liked Kid Cudi and his song "Mr. Rager" and he made a painting of what the song meant to him. This inspired me to want to interpret the song in my own way which I had never done before. So, I did it and became fascinated with making art via this concept...which I later learned was "illustrating".
When it comes to the illustrations I create, I prefer to deal with subject matters of the surreal by orchestrating abstract content in a fantasy type of realm. I have focused on creating artwork from a stream of consciousness in most of my work. The subject matters are quirky and whimsical in nature while incorporating various styles from art movements in history and can be interpreted anyway by anyone. The matters range from humorous, dark, ominous, cute, existential, ambiguous, and sporadic. Gradually I have just limited most of my creations to focusing on characters and constructing them in abstract environments. During my time in college, I spent most of it experimenting with new ideas and now I have plenty of them to flush out and build upon.
My top five favorite artists of all time are Robert Crumb, Pablo Picasso, Jean Michel Basquiat, Hieronymus Bosch and Jim Woodring. I enjoy all forms of art and take inspiration from a multitude of different artists and art movements. I cannot say I have one style, but as an Illustration graduate, when it comes to pen and inking, I definitely channel the likes of Cartoonist/Illustrators like Robert Crumb, Jim Woodring and Al Columbia. Contemporary artist that are striving in the art world in the present day like James Jean are also a big influence on me.
I like surprising myself with my own artwork and molding my ideas primarily in an illustration format. I like observing what my subconscious mind can bring out by drawing whatever pops in my head. Frequently, I will draw random shapes in my notebook and keep drawing off each shape or line. The goal is to draw something I have never seen before whether it is using techniques I normally do not use or combine multiple techniques and see what happens. I have realized that the more I do things such as this, the more ideas I will have to use for full scale projects in the future. I am still building upon an idea that I created over the summer of 2015 called Subcogny Fields. It was my first illustration series, and I am extremely excited and passionate about it. My goal is to continuously build and execute upon the concept to see how much it can grow through the art styles of illustration and comics.
I was born in Natchez Mississippi but was raised in Bloomington/Normal Illinois after the first three years of my life. I lived with my stepfather and mother, DeWayne and LaToya Griffin and my two younger siblings, Amiyah and Nyles until I entered college.
In high school, I was afforded many opportunities such as Fall/Spring Play Art Director, Homecoming Photographer, Art Club President, Art Mentor and surprise Black History Month performer. I completed the 2012 Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Pre-College Program. This program introduced me to a world of art that I did not know existed. In the summer of 2013, I attended the School of Art Institute of Chicago Summer Institute Residency Program and acquired my first college credits for successful completion of its Alternative Comics and Graphic Novels course.
I was incredibly involved in my hometown community where I was an active member of Jack & Jill of America and held several teen officer positions. I volunteered as a Supportive Living Game Night Assistant, Media/Sound Technician at my local church, Upward Basketball Coach and a 2013 Special Needs Summer Camp Counselor. The highlight of my high school days, I must say, was my summer tour of Turkey and Greece with my art teacher, Mr. Jim Reckard, for two weeks. My favorite creator of art is Michelangelo and his creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and I was in awe to see it in person on my European Art Tour.
I graduated from Minneapolis College of Art & Design in Minneapolis, MN with a B.F. in Illustration. During my college years, I completed two internships, participated in many art exhibitions, and begun commission work. After college, I was an intern Creative Art Director for a Marketing Agency in Atlanta, GA. My hobbies are primarily focused on the arts as I enjoy drawing, painting, sculpturing, animating, photography and writing music. Music is a primary inspiration for my artwork and my favorite artists are varied because I enjoy listening to genres such as hip/hop and pop to Indie folk and alternative.