artists

nicholaus arnold

My creative process evolves from the mundane and private in the form of personal humorous situations; I vignette it, and then universalize the situation for an audience to experience. Honesty and authorship are the overall unifying ideas in my work. The idea of the “authentic experience” or the twist of the “false experience” is a critical factor in my studio practice. The work I create must evolve from a real situation or experience I have crafted. The idea of alternative authorship or the simple questioning of the authorship of the artist plays another critical role throughout my work. Whether or not I made it, or if I declared it as “art”, becomes a relevant query to the viewer. Together these ideas interweave throughout my body of work and shape the experience the audience perceives. C/V

My work is about the death of mystery. It is about the changes that take place when faith gives way to fact; when imagination collides with reality. I am interested in exploring my generation’s yearning to know everything, the immediacy with which we need it and how easily it is to obtain it. The human quest to qualify, quantify, and make connections has been made possible without our interaction; I hope to relay this to my audience and provide them with an alternative through activism and a personal presence in all that I do. C/V

I am fascinated by symbols. By using printmaking and drawing I am able to spawn images of collage and expressive mark making, capturing a discombobulated whole. We are constantly forced to choose, but we receive so much influence from various sources. Religion, the media, the government, our own bodies, and peers are among these beautiful distractions. Knowing this, I formulate images of ambiguity and conformity, misplacing and divulging my own supposed beliefs, fears, cares, hopes, and dreams through a process that inevitably transforms into permanent stillness. Through my practice I am allowed a diversity of invention and appropriation, with which I can compose this insanity. C/V

Why would someone want to focus a body of art on or around the autobiographical? This is a question that I frequently asked myself when I started my most recent projects using video and performance formats with a focus on Autobiography. While expanding on this concept the work began to question art as therapy, and started to explore thoughts on embellishment and satire as well as involve personal experiences in a “confessional” format. Through my creative endeavors I can see each project growing stronger and possibly crossing boundaries, while formulating one congruent project if not also influencing future explorations. My main prospect is to create works that invoke emotions and that can possibly be relatable to the viewer though the work is primarily centered around my personal experiences. C/V

I have always been a nostalgic person–one of the few good traits I inherited from my father. I have always been fascinated by the fact that with a camera, you can capture so much more than just a pretty image; you can create something that evokes feelings. My goal with my photographs is to create something that holds a deeper meaning, creates a memory or an emotion and goes beyond aesthetically pleasing.. C/V