20/20 Vision

The Art of Contemporary University Printmaking

Brandon Sanderson

The Mechanical Serenade

My work is based on the interaction of mechanical and organic parts within myself and in the world around me.  The tools man creates have gradually become physically integrated into his body.  Having artificial parts such as pins in a knee and a reconstructed inner ear, I find the android and automaton to be an appropriate symbol of our capacity for alienation and devastation – but also of the ability for growth through constant education. However, it is not machine itself that engages me.  Rather I am intrigued by its impact on the human psyche.  Within my process I seek to not only depict this paradox, but also to consider how I exist within it.

The characters in my prints and drawings are collages of personal symbolism, art historical imagery, and mechanical metaphor.  My recent images combine early cold-war science fiction illustration with the line quality and compositional structure of old master etchings and engravings.  I enjoy addressing oft-visited art historical themes and reinterpreting them with my own symbolism and vocabulary.  Invasions, apocalypses, revelations, and raptures are an environmental characteristic of my work and form the setting for relationships between central characters.  Such encompassing elements reflect wryly on the fate of the players themselves by shifting the context in which they exist.

The images are surreal tapestries of human, mechanical, and landscape elements – a collection of symbols indicative of an underlying psychological struggle.  Nevertheless, it is not necessary for the viewer to understand this investigation.  There is a deliberately established sense of mystery and ambiguity.  I want the viewer to become involved with the atmosphere, characters, and narratives of the work to such a degree that they invent their own interpretation.

Printmaking forms the largest portion of most of my work due to its proximity to drawing. Having a background in computer programming, I enjoy the technical processes involved in creating a print.  I utilize specific effects only afforded by the limestone, plate, and block -- these are vital to the character of the imagery.  As a result, technique and content work symbiotically in my creative process.