Magic: The Unravelling
Artist Statement
We live in a consumer driven world where more people spend their hard-earned money on things that are mass produced without even batting an eye at the cost of such items. I sat down and had a long conversation with my friend, Ryan Albright, one evening. He is not an art collector per se, but had many questions about pricing artwork and was curious as to how people react to those prices. I have personally witnessed people with negative reactions to prices of artwork and wanted to create a show that explored social commentary, pop culture, and my experiences living in southeastern Louisiana, while relating the consumerist aspects of price and value to art enthusiasts who may be suspicious of spending their money on a piece of culturally ingrained artwork.
I used Magic: The Gathering cards as the base for these paintings, since they are a consumer item and hold a specific value already. Artists have added their own artwork to these playing cards before, but none have pushed the same ideas that these particular paintings bear. The cards used in this show, which are mostly common cards that come in Deck or Booster Pack purchases, can be considered unique because of their painted additions. Each painting is displayed in its own protective card case designed for collector cards. Alongside every piece is a card displaying information on how much one would spend to create that specific card, including materials as well as the answers to the all-time number one question every artist is asked: “How long did this take you to create this piece of artwork?” To be cliché, do you believe in magic?
