S.K. Simmerman: Mug Shots: A Motley Crew of Miscreants

June 4-25, 2021
S.K. Simmerman: Mug Shots: A Motley Crew of Miscreants
Opening reception: Friday, June 4, 5:00-8:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9 AM – 5 PM

During the summer of 2020 I became fascinated with a treasure trove of images I discovered on a public domain photograph site. Most of the photographs were from Newcastle, England around the turn of the 20th century. Not only were the rough portraits intriguing — ranging from young and old, male and female — their descriptions of crimes committed were equally compelling. As I began preliminary sketches from these visual archives, I couldn’t help but ponder on whatever became of these wayward souls. Later, I expanded my research to other digital troves, unearthing several mug shots from Leavenworth, Kansas and a few other federal prisons. The stories these individuals could tell…some tortured in mind, others genuinely penitent…captured my thoughts and reminded me that we all have redemption stories and human failings. I follow in the tradition of Andy Warhol, who did a series of screenprints of NY criminal’s mugshots, which I viewed at the Whitney on my last trip to Manhattan before the pandemic.

Among the artists whom I count as inspirations are Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Stuart Davis, and Jacob Lawrence. I admire the work of James Rosenquist and Jasper Johns and how they parlayed elements of commercial art into their paintings and sculpture. I completed an MFA in graphic design at the Savannah College of Art& Design in 2002, and have taught art for over eighteen years. My work is primarily mixed media: an alchemy of acrylic, watercolor, oil pastel, and ink often layered with “found” or hand-rendered type. Exploring the pairings of hand-drawn faces & intertextuality, I enjoy discovering many routes towards visual storytelling.

https://ssimmerman.myportfolio.com
https://www.instagram.com/simmanbydesign/
https://cicadacreative.wordpress.com/