jackassworld

Recently, The Dark was part of a group show at the Carmichael Gallery in West Hollywood, CA. Seeing as he’s my favorite artist, I was lucky enough to hang out while he did a street installation and have him melt my brain by explaining the meaning and purpose behind his recent multi-layered works. He described them as photo-conceptual/dream self portraits (I’ve definitely tried to simplify that, hence the brain melting), which question the public perception of street-based artwork compared to their disconnect of current apocalyptic events, i.e., the tsunami in Southeast Asia or Hurricane Katrina, due to the overwhelming amount of digital media at their access. With the faceless self-portraits he photographs of the drawings he puts up in the streets, he hopes to create a paradigm in which time becomes relevant to the viewer as a projection, instead of a memory, so they can relate to the individual in the work themselves, rather than create the distancing effect that recognizable features create. Either that, or people will look at them and go, ”So, so what?” —Lauren Graham

Check out more of The Dark’s work here at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedark/