Pop Surrealism

Pop Surrealism

I began finding my style and voice as a painter in my early-twenties while in art school. Growing up straddling the socioeconomic pressures of being a “mixed race” child of white and black parents, I saw comfort and camaraderie with solitary and misunderstood characters. In turn, I gravitated towards the controversial and surreal juxtapositions.
At this period of time, I was mostly interested in creating dialogues- inviting the audience to “make sense” of these odd worlds and uncanny characters. I wasn’t trying to make any statement, per-se. I wanted to make paintings that amused me. If not through overt subversion of expectations and social norms, though subliminal jokes and visual portmanteaus. 

It wasn’t until I stepped away from this period of my work, did I see more of these through-lines that many of these works manifested my loneliness and suffering at the time. All-In-All, these definitely represent a formative time for me; but many don’t hold any specific narrative. I still encourage the audience to look within and see the potential in these characters and in themselves. 

the eggman

 My only and younger brother Jason Thomas is a Renaissance Man If there ever was one. In spite of my efforts to juggle Emergency Medicine and Fine Art, He outshines me Several Fold. He has a PHD in Plant Genetics from the University of Minnesota (2019); Speaks English, Spanish, French; and he is a piano Virtuoso.

Fun Fact about my little brother: he is in the top 5 percentile of Beatle Maniacs. I too enjoy the boys from Liverpool from time to time; and particularly found the lyrics of “I Am the Walrus” to especially resonate with my psychedelic sensibilities.

Fun Fact about my baby brother: he HATES eggs. Since we were Young kids, he vehemently opposed having eggs anywhere close to his plate; so far as he refused to eat food with Egg in the top 7 of main ingredient.

As proud as I am of my baby bro, it has been my sworn duty to remind him of our “one year, three month, and 18-day” age difference. Keeping with big brother tradition, I couldn’t pass the opportunity for a good ribbing.  Enter, “The Eggman”; a portrait of my baby bro As an egg, surrounded by every lyric of “I Am the Walrus”. He is the Walrus, he is The Eggman. Goo Goo Got You!

Fed Up

FED UP is an examination of the status quo and surviving under the shadow of an imperialist beast that I have named the Chimerica. Chimerica, like a chimera, is a beast of many parts, but instead is fueled by the bloodlust of the American Dream. Throughout the series, one is confronted with the many atrocities conducted under the guise of freedom. In all of these paintings, Gluttony is allegorical of capitalism, genocide, imperialism, and a few other ‘isms.’

100 years ago the spectacle of lynching was treated as a fun family outing, often accompanied by picnic baskets and souvenirs (The souvenirs were not uncommonly body parts of the tortured and lynched.). Today, the grotesque American need to perpetuate the destruction of Black bodies has if anything risen in volume through state-sanctioned violence.

Granted, things have been cleaned up; traded the white cloaks for blue uniforms. Through reforms and rebranding, the public is conditioned to accept today’s more palatable lynching methods. The series of “Doughnooses” are all woven of the past and present history of extrajudicial killing. 

 I enjoy including humor, cultural and historical references, and easter eggs in my work. I hope you spend time with the details of each piece and peel back the layers and seek the gags and other treasures.

Magical Negr-O’s & Fascist Flakes,

Digital paintings, originally printed on 7 x 5 Vinyl Banner. 2022

There are scores of synonyms for “black” that carry negative connotations. And just as many for “Black people.” This piece is about how subjugation mutates through words and subliminal imagery. Notably, the featured character specifically resembles Mickey Mouse, a direct descent of blackface & minstrelsy. 

Your Name Here

Your Name here

I had the pleasure to live with another up-incoming artist: writer and film-maker, Adrion Trujillo. In the racist swamp of Eugene, OR, we overcome some incredibly low points in our lives. We were fighting homelessness; victims of multiple thefts and burglaries; and for a brief period, violently stalked.
Adrion and I also do a karaoke “Under Pressure” duet that’d knock your socks off! Please follow Adrion @trujelloforever and be on the lookout for his up-in incoming projects!

The Warmth of Community

The warmth of community

A commission for the Pacific Northwest Pride Foundation as part of their “Dear Me at 35” Mailer campaign. The artists on this project were tasked to reflect on certain time periods and this was my approach.

I was asked to focus on LGBTQIA+ history in the 1990s and 2000s. As these years contained the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, an immediate trigger is the iconic Quilt. As a queer descendent of rural midwestern quilters, I was excited to carry on this artisanal legacy of textiles through my own lens. 

In my early work, I often made lone figures in mysterious and ambiguous settings. These lonely atmospheric voids were a manifestation of my own isolation as a queer person of color. In “The Warmth of Community”, I wanted to also psychically evoke the macabre history of the struggle itself. Though the world can seem dark and vast, the Quilt heroically bursts through the canvas with its’ prismatic and warm presence. 

Another hallmark of my work is to include subtle, subliminal details and visual puns. Many historical and regional references are playfully and subtly woven into the patterns of the quilt. The audience will find iconic symbols of the LGBTQIA+ movement as well as references to different landmark legal cases like “Lawerence v TX” and “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” The number 1098 Relates to the peak of exposure of HIV from blood transfusions (1993) during a peak year of the epidemic. 1098 is a pretty big number, but 45K that year and 50K in the two years to follow would have reflected the actual peak death counts, but I didn’t want the piece to be Too much of a downer.

For more information about Dear Me at 35, visit:

pridefoundation.org/dear-me-at-35

Citations:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5021a2.htm
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=kb-01-03#S1.4X

Ashes

I grew up craning my neck to the photo-filled mantle above me to find this artifact of my Father (R) and my uncle (L) when they were approximately 3 and 2 years old, respectively. Following my uncle’s terminal battle with cancer in 2012, I knew what I had to do for my father in his time of grief.

I don’t remember precisely the eulogy I gave for my uncle the day of his funeral. I know it was of profound importance for my father that my younger brother and I (who are Also roughly a year apart in age) got along. For the two of us to fight was the highest offense in our household. I’d like to think that really spoke to how much my dad loved my uncle.

My uncle, Ricky (No Middle Name) Thomas, died Nov 5, 2012. His Birthday is celebrated on December 25th. Following the funeral, I barricaded myself in my studio for weeks and completed it just in time to present my father for Christmas.

Exquisite Crust

EXQUISITE CRUST / CADAVERS

The French Surrealists of the 1900s had a parlor game called, “An Exquisite Corpse/ Cadaver”. This is an incredible creative exercise where zany creations come to life! * 

Around the same time I was introduced to this game, I was drawing a huge amount of inspiration from my Art History classes at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I particularly took notice of the double-standards of style, success and sensibility throughout western art history; and really, just the many manifestations of the heterosexual-white-patriarchal system at work.

As the iconoclast and provocateur that I am, I sought to combine the styles of the revered modern and classical work with the otherwise considered low brow and kitschy subject matter. You’ll find references to Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Edouard Manet; all covered in sex and saccharine.

how to play:

1. Take sheet(s) of paper (2-4 or equal to “players”) and fold it into 3rds or 4ths. (Head, Torso, Legs; H,T,L,Feet)

2. Create your interpretation of a body part, with the only rule being that the lines from the drawn area are continued (a mm or so) to the next segment. This is done so that those can continue the illusion of a continuous “body”.

3. Fold over or cover your section as you pass it to the next person to further ensure more fantastical juxtaposition!

4. Pass back/ forth or down the line; giving usually 15-30 minutes to create in whatever medium or style of the artist’s choosing. After the 3 or 4 rounds, reveal the fully represented masterpiece! 

BT Will Kill Himself or Die Trying

Content Warning: Suicide, Sex

Memento Mori

In my early twenties I had my first major bouts of depression. I would spend months in an exhausted haze while my inner-monologue looped a mixtape of doubt and self-loathing. Although suicidal ideation wasn’t a frequent visitor, my fascination with death remained even when a depressive fog lifted.

Originally, this series was inspired by the ways people attempt to cheat death, weather through regular exercise or hand-washing; but I instead pivoted to the daily vices that kill us over time. The smaller seven deadly paintings explore universal vices where I aimed to evoke further emotion through the psychological and cultural triggers of the color palettes and background textures.

The flagship of the series is a nude self portrait where I have succumbed to my lust, vanity, and other “sins.” The Memento Mori, (“remember that you are mortal”) to me, serves as a reminder that we can still hold on to a scrap of agency and self-determination against such a major force as death. We can’t stop the train, but we can still choose where we want to be tied down on the track.

FAQ: Why in the world would you make a 7ft painting of yourself nude and dead?

A: Mostly because turnabout is fair play. Between the countless nude figure models and nude medical patients I’ve encountered on my journey, I think it’s more than appropriate that I share the same vulnerability that I’ve been so entrusted. Also, I really like the phrase “Naked as we came”; as orgasm is a little death, the final death is the ultimate release. And if y’all haven’t gathered. I like to keep things subversive. xoxo - BT

Inverse of Adam

Inverse of adam

Well before western culture and Christianity started covering our bodies with leaves, art and sculpture often encouraged fertility and celebrated the body. This is a return to our roots. Sex is essential. Sex feels good. Anyone that tries to take that away from you, stands in the way of nature. We need more education, and less obfuscation of our fundamental pleasure. Shame has no place here. 

Commissions

VIVID MATTER COLLECTIVE

In under 24 hours I and 15 other artists got together to complete this mural in the former CHOP on E Pine street in Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA.

When Covid hit I had lost a handful of gigs and was really feeling unsure about the place art has while the world is burning. I found that answer when I found my new family @vividmattercollective while painting the Black Lives Matter mural, and the answer is “hope.” Artists help envision a better world while we transport people into fantasies of our design. We create while they destroy.

I want to speak to my letter A in 'Matters'. Although I was a little weary of doing something as cliche as the afro and pic, I really needed to address what blackness means to me personally. As someone more light skinned, my hair has still definitely been an immediate source of attention for micro and macro aggressions. Having people feel entitled to touch our hair is definitely endemic to the black experience, as well at the pride that we have in our magical curls and locks. Speaking of pride, I wanted to intersect my queerness as well, especially given that we were in Capitol Hill. Even though the image reads from far away, it requires more personal engagement to enjoy the subtlety of the Rainbow in the teeth of the comb. Black Lives have and will always include the queerdos.