Folly, Prophecy and Piggishness
Scott 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.
“St. Jeremiah Preaching #8” by Scott Kolbo
Ink jet print and mixed media
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).
The New Pantagruel:
What would you say is the relationship between the Prophet and the Artist?
“St. Jeremiah Preaching #9” by Scott Kolbo
Ink jet print and mixed media
Scott Kolbo:
I think that the arts can provide a powerful prophetic voice in the contemporary world. Evangelicals are always mistakenly talking about using culture as a tool (we can really get the gospel out there if we can just IMPACT the movie business) when I believe that culture is something we create. Creating an authentic culture requires us to look at all of our flaws and injustices, and the arts reveal all of it in an embodied way. So the arts should have an prophetic element to them. Having said that I also think that its a huge mistake to act like ALL artists need to be prophetic. One of the things I love doing with my work is to poke fun at people who think they are prophets – but might not be. The issue of self delusion is never far away from the “prophetic.”
The New Pantagruel:
If we are living in a culture whose economy feeds primarily off the Fear of its consumers, what might happen if those consumers were free from such Fear? How might this happen?
Scott Kolbo:
The problem of consumerism in our culture is a tough one. How do you escape the cycle? Does anyone really want to get out? I think that in some ways the power we have as consumers is to re-direct the marketers’ attention. The big question for our age is if we can control ourselves. Are we constrained or unconstrained in our nature? Can we control our desires or not? I think our culture is conflicted about the answer, and we tend to shift our beliefs about all of it depending on our own self interest. So I think we could all be free from these fears if there was a mass movement to stop buying crap we don’t really need – to sacrifice something for justice and equity – and to recognize that we need to exercise some wisdom and regulate the options available to all of us – because we really can’t control ourselves as a consuming society.
The New Pantagruel:
What kind of communities are you a part of, and how have those communities responded to your work?
Scott Kolbo:
I teach at a Presbyterian college and have always been a part of evangelical faith communities. I also think that I am a part of the art world, particularly on the local level. My faith community has always been polite. As long as people know you and like you, they are pretty hesitant to condemn your work or the whole enterprise of the arts. I would say that there is far more interest in the arts among evangelicals in the last 5 years, but they all seem to think it would be a great trick for outreach or worship – again I’d categorize it as attempting to use culture as a tool rather than create something authentic. I honestly feel most at home among the common sense art people I have met over the years. There is an openness in the pluralism of contemporary art and a willingness to listen to different voices that I find refreshing and renewing. I have had a hard time seeing the value in talking about art with evangelicals – I mostly try to make small talk.
The New Pantagruel:
Thinking of Leon Bloy’s assertion, “Any Christian who is not a hero is a pig,” Frederick Buechner called himself a “part-time novelist who happens to be a part-time Christian.” Was there a point in your life where you recognized your own piggishness in a way that informed your work in a new way, or were your concerns as an artist always running along this vein?
Scott Kolbo:
I think that Buechner is an incredible hero. Along with Flannery O’Connor, etc. The writers are the ones I have found a sense of community with. I’m afraid that my own piggishness is evident all around me. I caught a quick glimpse of what a pretentious ass I am in high school. I was writing a bunch of opinionated tripe for the school newspaper and I realized that I thought I was smarter and cooler than everyone else. In reality I was just a fool who was faking it in every aspect of life – and that everyone else was doing the same. My life and work have sort of mulled that revelation over since. The lack of grace and humility I found in myself as a young man is something I’m always afraid will bounce up to the surface. I try to be on guard against pride and power plays in all aspects of the world because I know that this is what motivates me at my worst. I believe that all the great artists I’ve looked at who work in the tradition I’d like to place myself have the same outlook from the personal to the outside world, but it’s pretty presumptuous of me to pretend that I belong in the same league with them.
Copyright 2004-2005 :: The New Pantagruel 1.4.
