Diary of a Mad World DERRICK BURBUL

LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY

Diary of a Mad World
Artworks by Derrick Burbul
July 20 to September 7, 2019

Artist Statement

My images and writings have sometimes been juxtaposed, but never combined, until this body of work. The relationship between images and words can be traced back all the way to fourth century B.C. Greece to the Poet of Simmias of Rhodes, who wrote his writings in the forms of images, much like the Futurist poets of the early 20th Century. The relationship between images and words in the visual arts is often tumultuous, and
sometimes harmonious, and is a very rich part of the contemporary dialogue. My desire to mix images and words has led me to create images, which at first glance appear to be grainy black and white images in a modernist style. I use composition to capture the viewers attention, and large scale images-all images range from the smallest at 8.5”x 18” to the largest at 40”x 40”, which allow me to add minute details in the form of
text to play with the images content and meaning. What the viewer sees as “grain” from a distance, become words as the viewer is drawn in closer to the image through the variety of styles in how the “grain” is structured. The “grain” structure is sometimes more random, other times more patterned, or even structured to visually simulate poor reception on an analogue television. Sometimes the words are more visually obscure and other times they are visually overt. The words are original poems, stories, diary entries, and sometimes critical writings on art and photography. No matter what the words are, they are designed to allow the viewer space to reconcile the meaning between the images and words for themselves. This is my Diary of a Mad World photographic series.

Artist Bio

I received my Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts with an emphasis in Photography from the University of Idaho in May of 2000 and my Bachelors of Science in English with a minor in photography from the University of Wisconsin—Superior in 1996. I am currently a Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska at Kearney teaching Foundations Design and Photography.  Previously, I taught photography and various studio art courses at Graceland University, Iowa State University, and the University of Minnesota at Duluth. My creative work explores the environment and our relationship to it. This has resulted in many bodies of work including my Diary of a Mad World series. Regardless of the process or academic nature of my work, it all revolves around gaining a deeper understanding of our environment and our place in this world.