WRITING (Patreon)

The gallery has asked me to write an "Artist's Bio" and "Artist's Statement".  At first I was intimidated, thinking I'd have to tell my story all over again. Then I Googled how to write them and was pleasantly astonished to see that each document was to be 80-189 words; just enough so a person can read them on the wall without being distracted from their walk through the art itself.

ARTIST'S BIO by Milton Knight 10-22-23

I paint, but at heart, I am a cartoonist. I satirize 20th century popular culture.

I was born on May 12 (Mother's Day) in 1962 in New York. I am African American. My career has been based in New York (mainly illustration and comics work); Los Angeles (mainly animation work), and for the last five years, Bloomington, Indiana (a bit of everything).

My materials are of acrylics, both the black and white drawings and the paintings in full color. My style carries on the legacies of classic illustration, Expressionist and Pop.

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ARTIST'S STATEMENT by Milton Knight 10-22-23

My mission and desire is to capture the zeitgeist of mid-20th century popular culture before it festers into misunderstood nostalgia. I lived at least some of it, and my work is to document its mystique before it perishes, capturing the quality as well as the kitsch.

It is florid and bold and driven by sex and violence, in the colloquialisms of the time; the visual cliches presented in pulp and album covers, films and advertising. If it were music, it is roughhewn jazz and pop. But it's modern. It reflects today's greater awareness matched against the naivete of those times past.

My work is a reaction to today's visuals as they become more and more computer driven. My work is not tidy. I thickly slash ink and paints, inspired by Asian art and modern painting. I use the materials as an expressionist does; to convey moods and depth.

My work is of the past and the present.