TylerWardArt

            What happens when a young person is thrust into a world of anxiety, confusion, fear, and sudden independence?  Well, from my experience, the results are spectacularly unpredictable.  Some people are crushed under the weight of their debts, others hit their stride and do great things, and every shade of grey in the middle seems to manifest itself.  My body of work is about telling the whole truth about my experience living as a twenty-something in the 21st century; it is about the fight to maintain face-to-face human interaction while confronted by the fist of technology, trying to balance work, classes and relationships, and the misadventures that occur when juggling all of these things.

            Kurt Vonnegut has been my largest muse through this journey of illustrating my life.  Vonnegut spins fantastical tales of fiction where the characters all have major flaws, and none of them are really heroes or villains.  That is the part of his work that resonates with me.  Vonnegut shows humanity for what it is.  In my works I will often include a diary or journal entry telling a story of something that happened to me, my honest thoughts on the situation, and descriptions of the people involved and the good or bad choices we collectively made. 

            The methods I use to create these pieces revolve around a mix of sculpture and printmaking.  The prints are usually the base material for a sculptural piece.  Most of my works are on fabric because they are intended to be touched or picked up.  With such a personal concept it felt better for viewers to be able to touch and connect with the works on a level that could not be accomplished by simply looking, especially on pieces like the pillows where the textures of the fabric are as important as the writing and the imagery. 

“How complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.” – Kurt Vonnegut