The Message is in the Mark (2007)

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Before I get into my own work, I would like to talk about the VSA (VSA International Art Program for Children with Disabilities), it is a very valuable resource. It cares about the visual and performance on the state, national and international level.

It not only promotes individual as artist, put also makes the artist gain confidence in their selves and their work.



It has been said before my art is my own language as myself portraits. I call them my visual diary, by the color and the way the paint is puts down you can tell my emotions at the time.


During my graduate work I have been develop my own iconographic language for living as a disabled person. I have also been painting about some of the daily situation that I come across.


My goal here today is not to make you see how conceptual art can be. Rather to make you think art is a way of expression and how accessible it should be for the disabled and used as a form of communication. The problem is that people think art needs to representational, or done with certain medium, or technique. You can ask any art historian and the will say art movements are dead and anything goes.

Take my painting; I used to only use my headstick to do my work. But lately I have been painting the background by my hands. This allows my to be more gesurual. So now the emotion is not only achieved by color, but also by the marks that are made by my “uncontrollable hands”.

I not only use the brush in my hands, but some times glove up and move the paint with my hands. A few of my professors have suggested that I go abstract, but I feel that I need to have some narrative to my painting.

Art is about solving problems; the problem is not only about what to say? But also how to say it, what medium, what tool? The disabilities have a lot to contribute the world’s culture, but it is not a social priority.


Another way that I discovered to put more emotion in my drawings is to put up layers. Yes, is my professor who come with the ideas of how to improve my work, I am the one to find how execute them.


It is hard for my to use the long side of the pastel, so I decide to keep the piece that got too short to tape onto the headstick. I crush these pieces right on top of the paper and blend them in to my desire.


The last indever I would like to let you know about is my exploration with clay. If anyone said I would be working in this medium everyone would have laugh at him or her. I was lucky to meet the right professor that would hear out and show me the option to produce what thought up.


I hope this has given you some new prospective about art. Maybe now you know a friend, or client that needs a way to release their inner emotion and this has given you a different approached to a solution. M I you have any questions my email is: dank@kinggimp.com.