the New Pantagruel

Folly, Prophecy and Piggishness

by John KnausswithScott Kolbo

cott Kolbo studied drawing, painting, and printmaking at Boise State University and then at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Today he teaches these crafts at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. Some of Scott’s work can be seen throughout this issue of The New Pantagruel, and here he answers a few questions from John Knauss for tNP.

The New Pantagruel:

How early did your interest in these particular styles emerge?

Scott Kolbo:

I started drawing because I was bored in church. We went at least 4 times a week, and since my dad was the pastor I was there early, and went home late. Drawing was a great way to pass the time. I tried to do a lot of other things to escape the clutches of the art world, but I wasn’t good at any of them. All I really like doing is making marks on flat surfaces. I got into printmaking because I used to go through all the art books I could get my hands on and I really loved the prints. I had no idea what “printmaking” was - I just knew that these satirical images of grotesque little people doing strange and humorous things was exactly what I wanted to do with my own work. When I got to art school I found my way into a printmaking class and I never looked back.

I like to think that my artwork is a continuation of the preoccupation printmakers have always had with satire and social commentary. The history of printmaking is filled with artists who use their medium to mock the powerful and corrupt – and to fight against injustice. The emphasis on grotesque humor and irreverent symbolism in my work has been inspired by this tradition. Classic artists from this genre – Goya, Hogarth, Daumier, George Grosz, and Käthe Kollwitz – have been extremely important for me as I think about the content of my work. All of them rely on the qualities of the drawn mark to illuminate the folly and self-deceptions of their time. In addition to raucous drawing and challenging symbolism I am excited by narrative. I also don’t know how to be a relevant artist without somehow dealing with our visually overstimulated society. I appropriate pop cultural images and try to use them in a way that feels both familiar and yet disquieting. Contemporary artists like the South African Political artist William Kentridge have also been influential as I attempt to work with a set of reoccurring characters doing odd things in an exaggerated alternative universe.

The New Pantagruel:

What other forms or artists have influenced your work over time? Is there a particular direction you are moving in at present?

Scott Kolbo:

I am currently working on some ideas for video installation and temporary wall drawing.

The New Pantagruel:

The final sentence of your Artist’s Statement reads, “My ultimate goal is to lead the viewer to recognize the fundamental foolishness of human nature and to make visible the discrepancies that exist between what we pretend to be and what we really are.” What is the relationship between this statement and the departure from classical forms in your work?

Scott Kolbo:

I think that what you are getting at in your question is why I don’t glorify the human form the way they did in the more classical periods of Art History? I have always loved that sort of art, but I felt that my own particular gift is for satire and humor. There is way too much evidence of our ridiculousness in the world for me to be able to take anything we do too seriously. I want to explore the serious beauty that is revealed when we are weak and foolish – and acknowledge it – not pompous displays of idealized power or perfection. I think you need to have a lot of confidence in the human condition to make “classical” forms, I’m afraid I’m a bit skeptical of all that…

The New Pantagruel:

Having grown up reading a lot of comic books and graphic novels, I’m quick to see something of the latter in your work… is there any accuracy in this?

Scott Kolbo:

Comics and Graphic Novels are a huge influence for me. Books like Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid On Earth, or Blankets are really awe-inspiring for me. I would love for contemporary art to be fun and exciting the way that the best comics (and movies for that matter) can be. I have also been warped by reading a lot of Jack Chick tracts as a kid (comics were sort of off limits for a lot of years).