Artist Statement
Michael Faris
The subject matter of my artwork is generally called Social Justice Art. My works usually chronicle actual events or fictional allegories that involve contemporary or historical people doing terrible things. The human condition and human interaction are exceptionally interesting and awful. For me, I can’t imagine making artwork that has no humans in it. As long as there are bad people in the world, I will have plenty of subject matter for artwork for the next several hundred years. My specific interests are combatting violence, enforcing civil rights for everyone, and working against racism, sexism, ageism, or any other concept that creates oppression or discrimination.
I mainly make oil paintings, drawings, sculptures, and monoprints. The oil paintings are accomplished in a classic manner, with color underpainting followed by the finished product. I also work from the deep background toward myself while painting. This is the most expedient technique for me. The sculptures are usually mixed media pieces, often using found objects in conjunction with objects that I create. These works contain all sorts of materials and objects with various textures. The drawings are usually made with an erased graphite wash followed by a range of types of charcoal over the top. The graphite wash is erased so the charcoal can be used without graphite resistance. The graphite leaves a textured stain that I enhance with the charcoal. In addition to the graphite and charcoal, I use a whole collection of various types of Q-Tips, blending sticks, and four types of eraser to make the drawings. The monoprints are made with various types of software on the computer, printed onto prepared formats, and transferred to drawing paper. I usually work in black and white with these monoprints.