Untitled (Nouveau Ghetto series)
2011, Acrylic on velvet
Each 30 x 24 inches

These paintings question notions of radicalism in contemporary art and society. About four years ago I had the idea for something called "Radical Artist Workshop (RAW)". It was meant as an investigative parody of the very academic nature of works and ideas that passed for what is considered "cutting edge."

RAW has evolved into Nouveau Ghetto, and mimics the language of pop culture (within society AND art). Thus the Guerilla Girls' seminal poster has become the new Campell's soup can to be appropriated, painted on kitschy velvet. Nouveau Ghetto considers intellectualized forms of the stereotyped inner-city mentality, applying "white-trash"language and labels to a broad spectrum of concerns (from martyrdom to kharma) that often mistakens mundanity for radicalism.