Rockwellian Homobilia
Artist’s Statement: Norman Rockwell’s iconic illustrations reinterpreted as ceramic figurines, plates, and related collectibles serve as the starting point for this research. I make work through appropriating Norman Rockwell inspired collectibles and altering them through a variety of collage, decalcomania, and assemblage techniques. Altering and combining components from a diverse assortment of found collectables yields an opportunity to create other storylines that continue to operate within Norman Rockwell’s visual language. While my alterations retain a distinct Rockwellian style, the narratives orchestrated through my revisions convey storylines that are divergent from their original source materials. My narratives are devised to subvert the heteronormative perspective of Norman Rockwell’s nostalgic and sentimental portrayal of American life. This subversion aims to communicate some semblance of a queer experience or Otherness through satire, exaggeration, double entendre, and sexual innuendo. My goal is to create work that contributes to the visibility and diverse perspectives within the LGBTQ+ community, while vocalizing my own marginalized identity and sensibilities as a gay man. Through my work I am inviting the viewer to consider a more diverse representation of gender and sexual identity within American life and consumer culture.
