February Spotlight - Dave MacDowell

Intelligent, irreverent, at times whimsical, but always insightful: the work of Dave MacDowell encapsulates the spectrum of the cultural climate of 21st Century America. It is tempting to draw corollaries between an artist like Dave and past artists: Norman Rockwell, Salvador Dali, Jack Davis, etc. but Dave’s work is something that can’t be classified or labeled; such is the price of raw originality. I first encountered Dave’s work, as many others have, in the ephemeral light of a late night computer screen.
His work has a tendency of sneaking up on a person; after you spot one you begin to see it everywhere. During this time Gus had Dave’s “Bad Mutha Wizard” as his screen saver, and I kept finding more of his work in various disparate nooks and crannies of the internet. The Lebowski paintings, his various interpretations of Kubrick’s classic “The Shining”, in addition to countless other pieces, are both individually and as a whole, a microcosm of everything that is looked upon as sacred or trivial by a media driven consumer culture.
To try to clearly articulate in words what Dave himself puts so brilliantly on his canvas would result in a clumsy, ham-fisted article on the part of this writer. So we’ll give you the artist in his own words and after you’re done with the experience afforded to you by the imagination of this truly incredible artist be sure to go to www.macdowellstudio.com

"I see our culture as a toilet that no-one flushes. Shit just keeps piling up, and were drowning in punk ass Mickey Mouse and Ronald Fucking McDonald. Whoever owns it surely ain't giving us anything new, or options on how to live before you die. They figure just buy my shit and keep coming back. I say screw believing or buying all of the empty, pretty false hope promises these two bit drug dealers sing.. My art is here to remind you that its ok to be poor, ugly and dumb. I celebrate misfits, losers and whores who laugh at "The Man". I try to make my art like the best crack you can buy anywhere. It's cheaper on the street than most, and the high lasts longer. It expands your mind and questions your character. Its not just pretty colors and the soulless lies that you see everywhere. It holds a mirror up to your pain and numbs the child inside you. Its clean, and you don't need a pipe to enjoy!"  
- Dave MacDowell