Statement

It is the intention of my art to push the boundaries of images and ideas to the precipice, the edge… to continually challenge the “authority”… to be a guerilla artist with colours bright and energetic. My playful style seeks to keep the ‘inner child’ alive in all of us.

The OUTLAW… the myth of the movie Western… living in a world of controlled streaming images, my artwork serves as an “alternative” channel. Juxtaposed pieces of found objects, be it scrap metal or discarded paper, I collage these pieces into an identifiable image with coherent meaning. I seek to stimulate and reawaken the viewer to an “insight”. I desire to activate the release of mental shackles formed by a government that seeks control with its own propagandistic images and information. My dilemma… my role as artist is to speak my truth with images without being gobbled up and appropriated by the system.

HERO

When I was thirteen Muhammed Ali was my Hero. He spoke his truth. I saw him walking on the boardwalk in Atlantic City in 1968. His Boxing title had been stripped from him. He walked the planks of the boardwalk with integrity. The “boxer” series for me serves as a metaphor to focus. The image of the boxer is my way of dealing with my demons…a constant fight to remain conscious and present.

The image of the Boxer is that of a warrior but, a warrior contained within the confines of society…his ring. It is through the text combined with the emotional vibration of colour that my images transcend and attempt to make a “spiritual” connection. It is through this connection with “The Bright” spiritual that we are able to “radically understand” and transcend the daily pain and suffering of life.

It is the “Fight for our Souls”…the last vestiges of “Freedom” on the planet…the last frontier that governments, “authorities” seek to control and are at “War” to conquer and surveil…It is my desire through these images to manifest a magical, spiritual consciousness and community. For we are all the “Hero” when we act with consciousness and integrity.

Richard Kurtz

Santa Fe, New Mexico