Brian Knep

Brian Knep’s work was really interesting. My favorite pieces were those that were expressed using the childlike drawings: Emerge, Expand, Erect, and Escape. I enjoyed the play of the simplicity of the forms displayed, contrasted to the complex concepts and the precision needed to produce the movements through the technology. I enjoy the concept that these little creatures represent mankind and that in each piece they are struggling to reach a goal.

“The works in this series use child-like drawings to examine, in a humorous way, the illusions that drive us. The creatures, with their huge, exaggerated faces and skeletal legs, are caricatures of the endlessly cycling everyman. Visually, the creatures are presented as shadows, illuminated only by the lights that are cast upon them. They cover all available surfaces, reacting to our intrusions into their small worlds.”

I also found the piece Deep Wounds very moving. It definitely made a strong statement about how we fear the enemy, yet it conveyed this by touching upon ideas that are significant and close to us like relationships. It successfully made me think about the way we treat people who are close to us or who have the same ideals as us versus how we treat people, and even think about people, who are different in such strong ways that we are physically against them.

My Questions:

The piece Deep Wounds seems as though it could have been quite controversial. It brings significance to confederate soldiers, but it does this in an anonymous way (instead of bringing up their names directly). It is juxtaposed in a space that has forgotten the confederate side of the war, which could highlight something they now feel shame about. All the soldiers’ memorials are projected on the floor that we have to walk over to view, which could be interpreted as insulting if it was not seen as the idea that they have been buried and are now being unearthed. When creating Deep Wounds, did you encounter opposition from people about how, where, or why it was displayed? If you did, then how did you overcome those obstacles?

In your pieces Emerge, Expand, Erect, Escape, you use the creatures to represent the “endlessly cycling everyman,” and they all seem to be grouped and have the same goals. Do you see yourself as being one of these creatures? Is it a play on the idea that we are all trying to be the same or end up being the same? Or is it meant more to represent the idea that we work together or need to work together more to succeed at these universal goals?