My lackluster skills as an artist are sure to make you feel the same sense of disappointment I feel when individuals, institutions, or mankind lets me down. It's a foundational metaphor that informs everything I do. It's how I level criticism at something. Past that, my artistic practice is a patchwork of influences and experienceS.
Below are several statements that will contextualize some components of my artistic practice. They stand as my extended artist's statement (probably more to come):
I've read a lot about art, but don't have much formal training.
The way Heraclitus thinks about contradictions suits my brand of social criticism and analysis of power structures.
Shepard Fairey, Adrien Piper, and On Kawara serve as inspirations to me because they are proactive in how they interact with their audiences and distribute their work. I mail work, leave it out to be found, make murals/wheat paste images, etc. I'll show anywhere, but vandalizing things isn't something I really do. I like that my work looks like crappy advertisements for things that are not for sale.
Saul Steinberg kind of falls into the abovementioned category. Look him up.
The way Barbara Kruger uses text reveals how language is used symbolically and how it can impact people. Glenn Ligon hits me the same way.
Listening to RATM, Slayer, Miles Davis, Gil Scott Heron, and Beck give me joy.
Kota Ezowa appropriates images to imbue them with new symbolic meaning. The images he uses weren't art before and now they mean more. I like Louise Lawler as well.
The main reason I appropriate images is because I like to steal them. That way there is a transgression associated with the meaning of my work. It's my hope that the feeling of being slighted is associated with the content being criticized within my artwork. This approach is not for everyone.
I will steal my source material from anywhere. My references vacillate between vacuous pop culture and esoteric art historical sources. Ask me about an image and I’ll tell you where it came from.
I usually make my work digitally. I can send it around the world for free. It can stay digital and be art. It can be printed and framed, pasted, or projected and traced by other people. I call it art in any form. My being comfortable with the immateriality of my work, as well as my willingness to let others complete my projects is indicative of how important Sol LewitT and Marcel Duchamp are to me.
My work is for sale, but not for much. Sometimes I give it away, especially if I mail it. I prefer others install my work. This way I don't have to travel against my will or have my feelings hurt when no one wants to buy my artwork. My expectations are low and my enjoyment is high.
Courbet, Raymond Pettibon, and Goya's work are meaningful to me because it seems down to earth and critical of the right things for the most part.
I used to split my time between Houston and Saskatoon. Now i live and work in dulac, Louisiana. I can be reached at chet.bromstein@gmail.com. Email me questions. If you give me your physical address I might send you something. I don't do gallery talks, but love written correspondence. video chats are also okay (not a people person). I am largely aloof so my work/self can manifest theatrically like a professional wrestler’s persona.
I WANT TO GIVE MY THIEVING GRAVITAS SO MY WORK IS MORE LABOR INTENSIVE THAN IT LOOKS OR NEEDS TO BE. MY COMPOSITIONS ARE NORMALLY GROUPINGS OF STOLEN IMAGES THAT HAVE BEEN ALTERED. SOME IMAGES ARE MORE ALTERED THAN OTHERS.
THE INTERNET MAKES IT FEEL AS THOUGH OUR THOUGHTS AND KNOWLEDGE ARE NOT OUR OWN.