Artist Research: James Concannon

I am so excited to type this post cause just yesterday I discovered an artist named James Concannon while scrolling through Instagram and he could quite possibly be my favourite artist of all time.

I love everything about this guy…the fact he uses garbage, trash to make art and the way he assembles them in that particular DIY punk style without having to resort to glitter tactics to make them look good. It feels soooo immediate and raw (like body fluids pls) and the final image created is always so strong and visually appealing (at least to me).

I love how he just tears photographs, cardboard and puts them together in such a raw fashion. (I think I’m starting to use this word a lot…) and the how he uses DUCT TAPE OMG YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY THIS MAKES ME FEEL…I LOVE USING DUCT TAPE!!

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Most of his works are critiques of America and he makes many references to pop culture. While this does not make him a particularly unique artist, considering how so many artists love criticising the american society, its his manner of presentation that keeps me interested in his work. It is clear that his style is probably derived from the punk movement of the 70s but his choice of materials allows him to stand out from being simply associated with the general punk aesthetic. Typographic elements also become a very important feature in most of his work, adding a new meaning on top of the imagery created by the materials alone.

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