Tag: Presidents

The values and attitudes of every generation are reflected in its art. This generation is definitely no exception. There is a battle being waged between world views which are diametrically opposed to one another. This polarization is visible in politics, entertainment and culture. In today’s post-modern world, God has been removed and secularism seeks to fill the void. Once God is out of the equation, all objective truths are out with him. Any standard of beauty or aesthetic value is gone. Once objective standards are lost there is no longer any definition of what constitutes art. Historically art ennobles and seeks to reflect a greater good, but today’s art reveals something much darker. The post-modern world is seeking to discredit and destroy any truths which it thinks inconvenient. A small minority of intellectual elitist are attempting to force a sometimes unwilling public to accept it’s hopeless and demented world view as the norm. Many today who want to be accepted by this clique only consider artwork which is cynical and negative to be important. I have chosen uncomplicated subjects such as historical icons because they are something we all have in common. Each of these subjects has meanings which are imprinted in the back of our minds. By manipulating these images, I hope to bring the viewer into a new way of seeing familiar subjects. In today’s world we have a tendency towards deconstruction. Today’s heroes seem small and insignificant compared with those of the past. There is no question that many icons of our culture are less than perfect. But there are plenty of other outlets in art and culture to expose their real or imagined weaknesses. I would rather search for the ideal in these subjects and if possible give them a new dignity. These paintings are not documentaries of their respective subjects per se, but simply representations of the common bonds we all share with them. These formal and sometimes stoic images are a great contrast with bright colors and expressionistic brush strokes. And, hopefully this will give familiar subjects new life.

Steve Penley