the Cryptic

                                                        




Ray Noland


" the Sweet Tea & American Values exhibition (on June 11th at 2229 S. Halsted Street in Pilsen) was a glimpse into the absurd and at times distressing reality of our social experiment called the United States. The show is primarily comprised of meticulously hand-cut stencil work on canvas. Some of the work entitled, No Race Creme references vintage skin whitening advertisements of the early 1940s – ’50s with contemporary ‘new’ and ‘improved’ enhancements. While other works such as, The Oath Keepers engage conservative Christians and their historical commingling with war, violence and terror in America. A few works humorously highlight pop icons and political figures including; Michael Jackson, Thriller Zombie and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Shoe Shine Blago, Run, Blago, Run w/ balloon and Jailhouse Elvis Blago. The show also envisions a possible future of a dream realized in works like, People Party, and Everyman. The result is a candid perspective at times bittersweet yet always sincere."  [1]


Try it
seeing is believing got to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEU22UjZZQY
to get up close and personal go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=els3g-00xj8
to support this artist go to http://chicagourbanartsociety.tumblr.com/

More on the Artist

Artist Biography: Ray Noland is an artist and designer working under the alias CRO. He is the creator of “Go Tell Mama!” – a grassroots Obama art, video and street campaign which began in 2006 and toured the country during the election of ‘08. He is also the artist behind the now iconic “Run, Blago, Run” street art phenomenon. Noland also independently published the now-defunct online magazine BLACKLIST® (‘03-‘06). He has a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (‘95) and has worked professionally as an art director and brand designer. His art & illustrations have been published throughout the US and Europe and are in the collections of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian. Though Noland’s work has been exhibited in galleries in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Atlanta, he is most familiar with renting vacant storefronts and converting them into DIY PopUp art spaces.

Artist Statement: Since the early 1990s, my work has involved the creation of conceptually based sociopolitical screen-printed posters, imagery and art activism. I embrace the hand of the artist and technology — carrying this philosophy through my process. In my work, I comment on the American dream and the subsequent gap between it and reality. My work also addresses racial identity, pop culture, politics and underlying social behaviors historical and current which continue to shape American society. I document a moment in time (DAMIT) by creating imagery that resonates with people. I’m trying to engage in social and political discourse in a humorous way. Often times these themes are combined into work reflecting heros and/or villains of our society. Like a vessel, I constantly receive stimuli from the environment which becomes part of my work. I present the viewer with a mirror reflection of the world as it is. My social commentary weds graphic form with brazen content. The result is at times stark and brash and at others photographic and honest.

Ray Noland currently lives and works between Asheville, NC and Chicago. [2]