Bryan Schnelle's Artist Statement

I'm gathering up info from all our artists at Gallery Three and just today read through Bryan Schnelle's artist statement. It's fitting for the times and interesting to think about, if you aren't already.

ARTIST STATEMENT


“The important thing is the obvious thing that no one is saying.”
-Charles Bukowski


My current work is an attempt to expose, explore, and maybe even come to terms with our society for what it is, to accept and dissect the fundamental wrongness of our being. It is a satirical illustration and sarcastic acceptance of the fear, hopelessness, and emptiness of daily life in our rapidly crumbling society. I am not above employing “stupid humor” as a tool to grab the viewer’s attention, as there is always something else, just beneath the punch line, a platform for serious thought. Ski masks are used to conceal people’s true identities. Hardcore old English text delivers social commentary through meaningless headlines and apocalyptic heavy metal lyrics. Backgrounds are left solid white to further illustrate the isolation of the world in which these characters inhabit. Motives are unclear, lies are repeated so many times that they are believed to be truth, the earth is angry, God is hiding and man is trying to take his place. I like to think of this body of work as some kind of warning from a parallel dimension or abstract communication from a higher plain of consciousness.