Global Chaos, Healing Art:
The Works of Sam
Sebren
by Jay Blotcher
When concerned about the general state of
affairs in Bush’s America, some people pen letters to
the editor of their local newspaper. Others hoist a protest
sign and take to the streets. Sam Sebren, an Athens, New York-based
artist, makes his sentiments known by stretching another canvas.
For the better part of three decades, Sebren, 46, has transformed
critical thought about culture, politics and the environment
into provocative paintings, sculptures and art installations
exhibited in the Hudson Valley, New York City and nationally.
Two new pieces will be part of a Bard College
art show in February, in conjunction with a conference on
global warming called “Focus the Nation.” Sebren’s
contributions to the show contain his signature style: raw
brushstrokes in acrylic paint, chaotic collage and titles
calculated to jar. But why do these works that lampoon America’s
rampant consumerism—“Breeding Zombie Consumers”
and “Jesus Died for our Malls”—appear in
a show about fluorocarbons and melting Arctic glaciers? Sebren
explained the environmental harm posed by the many boatloads
of “goods from China and the amount of fuel it takes
to transport them all over the world,” while also citing
the mountains of toxic plastic containers left in landfills
after Christmas Day. His response confirms that even behind
Sebren’s most provocative work, there lies a well-considered
and well-informed rationale.
A native son of Norfolk, Virginia, Sebren
says his character—and ultimately his artwork—was
formed by the bigotry that anchors his home state. Growing
up gay, he learned firsthand the religious fury that could
crush anyone who diverged from preordained standards. He stuck
around long enough to earn a BFA from Old Dominion University
before heading for New York City’s Lower East Side in
1985. CONTINUE....
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