Children Swinging Axes in the Night

Artist Statement

“We live in a new dark age. We do not realize this because we live within the walls of the citadel. This age is global. Small villages or cities of terror are now nation states. Tires burn, limbs are hacked, the earth is raped efficient. There are more of us then ever before, children swinging axes in the night.”

Art making is play. Through play, we exercise control or the illusion of control on our environment and it comforts us. It gives the artist power to create other worlds and live in them. The nighttime images one sees can become concrete. In crafting an object to share with others, the artist, and possibly the viewer can be transformed.

If we are lucky enough to have a safe childhood we are protected and unaware of the horror of life. Through play we can become masters of the Terror. The artist can mold the story and journey with the Hero. My images appear within a nexus of childhood fantasy, the occult, dreams, war aesthetic, media and oil paint. Essentially, I am creating my own universe to play in, a universe with its own Gods, its own heroes, its own bizarre religions and its own history of conflict.

My process is a form of Alchemic conjuring. I attempt to manifest things not apparent to the conscious mind. These enigmas often show themselves to me in dreams or weird combinations of sound, sight and smell while I am traveling through the city. They may appear to me in a song or snippet of some obscure horror movie. An image in an outdated science book may catch my eye. Or they may glance at me through a sentence in an old children’s book.

Now more than ever we are in danger of complete destruction at the hands of unchecked corporations and fundamentalists of every religion. Human freedom is in serious trouble. My paintings express this profound fear of loosing everything due to dogmatic fools, or they might be pure escapism.

ASTROBEEF art STUDIO Featuring the art of bob stearns

Children Swinging Axes in the Night

Artist Statement

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