Tony Speirs

www.tonyspeirs.com

TONY’S LABEL:

2006 Stiling Vineyard Pinot Noir

“My current work reflects my ongoing love of certain graphic forms of popular culture (old advertisements, children’s illustrations, circus posters, cartoons and comics) and my desire to utilize this playful and nostalgic imagery to tell stories and address contemporary, sometimes politically weighted issues. In addition, I’ve begun to incorporate imagery from a variety of different cultures (Japanese comics or manga, Chinese and Indian advertisements and textiles, and decorative patterns from Asia and the Middle East) to lend a world-view aspect to the narrative.

While I love a powerful statement coupled with a direct, powerful presentation, for me, humor and color and a joy in the juxtaposing of different and varied source images is my way “IN” to a picture that, at its core, may express a documentation or critique of my troubled times. (The picture, almost as often, might also just be a way for me to have fun and play.)

I guess I’d say I feel my pictures are most successful when a child looks and smiles at the recognition of familiar imagery (a cartoon character perhaps) and then his or her parents smile, too, but for entirely different reasons.

You know — fun for the whole family.”

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