The Looming Classroom

Self-pity is not an unfit subject for art. As long as the artist doesn't churn out an endless stream of work focusing on his own suffering because that would elevate his oeuvre no higher than that of a schoolgirl's diary.

"The Looming Classroom" was drawn at a time when I felt I couldn't shake the hang-ups that plagued me in high school. How successfully I represented this is the reason that I consider it my best work to date. On the right-hand side of the split-screen is a guy who is more or less me in what is more or less my room. The white dividing line traps me inside the claustrophobic space. The pattern on the wallpaper evokes prison bars. It's dark and tight, but is secure and cozy compared to the classroom that occupies the other four-fifths of the picture. I drew this before I drew "And Another Thing..." and it was with this picture that I started to push expressionism over realism. Strange, angular objects and distorted perspective are more ominous in "Classroom" than they would be in "And Another Thing..." To add to the unpleasantness I threw stains on the wall and worst of all, lemon spelled wrong on the blackboard.

As bad as the setting is the people truly evoke repulsion. Compare my tiny figure to the big angular brute on the left. He is ugly, tough, literally pointed and aiming straight at me. Even worse is the female person (creature?). She is hideous and shriveling, venom shoots off her tongue constantly revealing my flaws. I'll let you interpret beyond that.

I hope that I can keep up the trend of creating art that is more intellectual than whimsical.

Graphite, 2010 11"x15"

Submitted as my entry for the "Express Your Emotions" contest held by