Nick
C. Kirk also known by the moniker Train is currently working on an extensive
series blending the kitsch, ready made, manufactured, commercialized pop
culture that we live in today, the imagery from his childhood, as well as
issues in morality, politics and religion.
“I
enjoy creating art that almost seems to make a mockery of itself. Art
imitating art and the juxtaposition of collage images that bring new
meanings. I make work that imitates life; both current and past. My
art isn't saying what is right or wrong, or what should be allowed and what
should be censored. My work is simply the dots on a page. Each
viewer will connect them the way they want as to individual tastes and
experiences.”
You
will find many popular images in his work that convey his memory as a child
growing up in the late 80's and his teenage years of the mid 90's.
"You may get it, you may not," says Nick. "Some people
will just see images they recognize and enjoy it for the 'fun factor', but hopefully
at least a few will recognize underlying connotations within. For me it's
about understanding my past in terms of society childhood innocence vs. the
realizations I see as an adult. It's not just about all that comes with
the rapidly changing evolution of electronics and machinery, but the perception
of life each individual conveys as they mature from childhood adolescence to
adulthood. Children have a raw unknowing and almost gullible perception
on life, and when you grow older, you realize life is very much different than
what you once knew. I realize that how I was as a child was a product of
my environment, mainly encompassed by the picture painted to me by my parents,
images and memories that I was allowed to absorb. As an adult, I am in
charge of what I take in and what I decide not to, or so I thought.
Society is overwhelmed with such a vast variety of new propaganda that many
people can't make choices on their own, and are often bombarded with Big
Business public imagery that are forced upon them. Big Business learned that art is a powerful weapon in
advertisement and entertainment, but we as Artists must take that power
back.
“All
art is propaganda. It's what you do with it that makes the
difference."
