I have always seen ARTIST STATEMENTs as pretentious attempts at explaining away an artistÕs work. Sort of making up for any shortcomings the artists hopes that you, the viewer, wonÕt notice.
This is my third attempt at writing a new ARTISTS STATEMENT and it very well maybe the most pretentious yet.
These are images, pictures I conjured up out of dreams, expressions of observations, and expressions of an opinion. My opinion.
I enjoy my work. Whether it is watercolor, oil, pencil, or pen, my work makes me giggle in a rather childish way. Even the more serious stuff, I get down right giddy while looking at it. Usually because IÕm getting all geeky over some technique that I learned how to do and IÕm still quite impressed with myself over how I put it to use; or I am excited about how the painting or drawing turned out Ôexactly how I imagined it wouldÕ. Which is not always the case.
For the most part I see my work as miniature stories, vignettes, childrenÕs books for adults. Even the single panel paintings, most have some elaborate story behind them, or at least did while I was painting; sometimes the full stories are lost.
Humans, no matter how frail, damaged, deranged, hateful, violent, disgusting, lovely, in love, content, immoral, amoral, loyal, deceitful, or oblivious we are, we remain the most divine artistic subject. I tend to focus on the figure, the glorious, abused, absurd, symmetrical, figure. The figure is a wonderful mirror of human experience. One can piece together a rough story of peopleÕs lives just by looking at the figure, how its been kept, the lines, scars, tone, shape, weightÉall of it plays a part in telling a story, and I truly enjoy being the teller of many tales.
(b.1973)
Tyson Schroeder grew up in the wilds of Overland Park, KS. He graduated high school in 1991 and rushed off to Lawrence, KS to attend school as a Theater Set Designer. This was a short-lived career move and in January of 1993 he struck out to make his way as a musician in one of a couple hundred other bands from the surrounding area.
Around 1995 Tyson began creating unique fliers and full color posters for area bands and promoters, sometimes trading his work for shows for his own ÔnoiseÕ band. The overwhelming interest in the poster art inspired Tyson to pursue other avenues for painted and drawn works; this resulted in his first self-promoted show in a small coffee house called the ÒGlass Onion.Ó Then in 1997 he started on a new venture with fellow bar friends and artists called ÒArt Whore.Ó Designed to be an artists promotion group, for the next three years they actively put together and promoted monthly spoken word shows, two day apartment art shows featuring two to three artists, produced and published a total of eight chap books of poetry and short stories by area authors. In the process Art Whore succeeded in making Lawrence recognized as one of the top 100 cities for new artists, and in having one of their group shows at a local coffee house shut down during the Culture Under Fire week sponsored in part by the Greater Kansas City Coalition Against Censorship.
In 2001 Tyson and his family packed up and moved to Cape Cod, MA where his wife had become the director and curator of the fledgling Edward Gorey House Museum. He continued to show at the Boston South End Open Studios show, as he had since 1998, as well as procuring his first solo ÒgalleryÓ show with the now defunct NAO Project gallery in Boston. March of 2003 ÒHUMANATUS: Paintings and DrawingsÓ opened, although not shown, his dyptich ÒTesting My Mettle On The River StyxÓ was finally completed as a part of the HUMANATUS series.
The move back to Kansas City came in December of 2004, and Tyson quickly fell back in rhythm with promoting self-made shows in venues such as The Brick and the community art gallery in Columbus Park. Among these endeavors was the formation of a new art group called ÔThe Broken Brick GroupÓ which now has a standing yearly show at the Hilliard Gallery in the Crossroads district. In addition to the many local showings, Tyson was invited to be one of the members of the poster art show ÒGraphic NoiseÓ in July of 2006 at the Museum of Design Atlanta, which is a subsidiary of The Smithsonian. Over the next year, Tyson also contributed editorial illustrations to Kansas CityÕs PITCH Weekly, as well as The Boston Globe.
2007 brought about the addition of a new band (the) Medicine Theory to TysonÕs busy schedule, as well as a potentially recurring solo show in Salem, MA in a community driven art space referred to as the ÒSalem Experimental Gallery.Ó His series of drawings centered on a story about the generational passing on of ignorance and hatred called ÒThe Family Curse: an unpublished workÓ was critically well received and was one of the highest selling shows of the galleryÕs season. This was also the year Tyson was approached by Sonie Ruffin of the Robert Frazier Gallery to participate in the 2008 show ÒBe still, tell your storyÓ, where TysonÕs work now has a home.
2002-2003 Cape Cod Community College
1991-1993 University of Kansas
2008 ÒBe still, tell your StoryÓ The Robert Frazier Gallery of
Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
ÒAn Evolution of PerspectiveÓ Art in conjunction with the JOHN BROWN Opera at the Lyric Opera, The Robert Frazier Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2007 ÒThe Common ThreadÓ The Brick, Kansas City, MO
ÒHUMANATUS/BALLERINA/THREADÓ Various works from three series, The BullDog, Kansas City, MO
ÒTruth and MisinformationÓ Broken Brick Group, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
ÒRock Show Poster Retrospective (1994-2007)Ó The Brick, Kansas City, MO
ÒThe Family CurseÓ An Unpublished Work, Experimental Art Gallery, Salem, MA
November Group Show, Mindpuddles Gallery, Houston, TX
The Art of Musical Maintenance:Poster Art Show (November), The GoodFoot, Portland, OR
2006 Various Works The Brick, Kansas City, MO
ÒDrawings and PaintingsÓ The Brick Kansas Ctiy, MO
ÒSalvationÓ Broken Brick Group Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2005 Art in Columbus Park, KC, MO;
Ò Graphic Noise Ò Rock Ar, tMuseum of Design Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
ÒTetanusÓ Group Show Fahrenheit Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Boston South End Open Studios, Boston, MA
2003 Ò Humanatus: Paintings and DrawingsÓ NAO Project Gallery,
Boston, MA.
1997-2004 Boston South End Open Studios., Boston, MA.
1996-1999 Various coffee house and Art Whore sponsored shows, Lawrence, KS.
2005-Present Assisted in the creation of ÔThe Broken Brick GroupÕ; a collective of eclectic artists, each creating 2-5 pieces based on a common theme, but having to adhere to strict rules of secrecy amongst the group members.
2001-2004 Edward Gorey House, Museum
Assistant Display Designer, Framer
Designed and constructed display cases for museum, assisted in show designs and hangings, matted and framed original art and prints.
1997-1999 Art Whore
Creator and Director
Organized spoken word performances, weekend art shows and published collections of writing/illustrations by local artists.
1995-Present Freelance Illustrator
Editorial illustrations for local papers (The Pitch) and larger market newspaper (The Boston Globe); various rockshow posters, now working with a partner under the name Gravity-ink; comic book concept work for independent publishers; currently working on a graphic novel with an east coast based writer.