Chris Crites

Sean and I are actually on our way to the airport for a rather exciting and last minute trip to Chicago - we'll tell you all about it on Monday! And thanks to Blogger's auto-publishing capability, I've post-dated a few posts for you while we're gone. So - more on the trip later. For now - Chris Crites! Chris paints on paper bags rather than on the traditional white piece of paper and has drawn an extensive collection of mug shots (though he also has other work). The artist's statement:

Years ago I saw a book of black and white crime photographs from the past. I found it amazing. The characters and crime scenes looked like surreal glimpses into the history of human interaction. Much more intriguing for me were the mug shots. Portraits of people who had just been caught. Despair, frustration, anger – so many expressions could be read on the faces. Each one of these images has a story. Often times I have no idea what the real story is, but it's hard not to make one up. One of the reasons I paint them is to bring out another possible story, for people to look at and think about. The majority of the images I base my paintings on are from the 1890's through 1950's.

Originally I began using charcoal and white conté crayon on paper bag. The way the wrinkles, folds and texture added to the piece really appealed to me. In 1999 I painted my first 4 mug shots in acrylic on paper bag with a limited palette of 5 colors each. Paper bag has been my main substrate ever since. Brightly colored acrylics have a different effect on the brown bag than on a typical white backing.

I try to bring new life to these practically discarded portraits of criminal and human history. Using an everyday, disposable item as the surface gives new life to the bag as well. It is my hope to get people thinking about the past, their present, and how we all affect both.

Via The Strange Attractor.