The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything London Pate (Honors Portfolio Development)

Artist Statement

Between sci-fi stories and dystopian novels, humans have a constant fascination with what the future holds and what lies unexplored beyond our planet. My work seeks to evaluate not only the developments we look forward to, but also how we deal with contemporary tech, the passage of time, and the nostalgia we hold for devices of our youth. Despite the complicated subject matter, I aimed to use comedic and down to earth scenarios to highlight the concerns and hopes that come with our current era of development. To achieve this I utilized a combination of digital and traditional tools. This included mediums ranging from ink to alcohol markers in order to add contrast to the broad scope of ideas present in the portfolio. Anytime a piece tackled a new idea I wanted it to be immediately noticeable visually, whether that meant limiting color palettes to increase focus or choosing to add multiple textures over a work.

As a person who spends a lot of time online and around technology, a majority of my artwork centered around ideas I was already familiar with. Primarily, the idea of "retro-futurism" that conceptualizes futuristic technology based on items from the 80s through 2000s. Using this a reference allowed certain pieces to be grounded and recognizable, either through an alien in hightops or a robot focused on classic gundams. Though, when the pieces stray from this retro feel into contemporary experiences I allowed my personal views on the subject to come through. The overwhelmingness of modern online spaces, the fear mongering about things like cell-phones, even overconsumption. These all influenced how even the pieces that lean more comedic turned out.

Overall, my goal for these pieces was to reflect on how times have changed and how they will continue to do so. Even though some pieces strayed further away from that goal than I would've liked, generally losing some clarity, I'm pleased with how all of them came out on their own. On a technical level, many of the works were a struggle, especially when adding a new program and the use of somewhat unfamiliar traditional techniques. Still, through overcoming these struggles I was able to steadily improve with each piece, eventually being comfortable enough to be fairly self indulgent with my personal style. Moving forward, I think these works will give me something tangible to show the true depths of my abilities. I may not know what the future will actually look like, I'm happy to keep speculating.

This piece aims to convey the common experience of an overload of consumption leading to a loss of self. To me, it is a cathartic expression of the compounding stress I feel in my daily life from maintaining face in person and across a variety of digital platforms. As the ways we are forced to express ourselves expand, I wanted my audience to resonate with the constant feeling of a possible bubble burst or world-shattering event. On a technical level, this piece was a struggle. I don’t often work with this wide variety of digital brushes, and I was learning a new program at the time. Still, the result is something that maintains the roughness of my original concept while polishing my less refined ideas.

As a society we are constantly obsessed with age and the eras of our lives. I wanted to tackle this obsession by asking when looking back on our past selves, are they still us or have we become separate? This was a part of my first foyer into Photoshop, and I think it shows. Still, I enjoyed the actual process of digital painting and learning to work with a more limited brush set. Overall, even if the theme is more hidden than some of my other pieces (by way of being more original character focus) I like to think it rewards an onlooker for making connections withing the art. And, if nothing else, hopefully it’s just an enjoyable scene to see.

While some view the machinery of the future to be revolutionary, there's always been a voice in my head that begs the question, "Revolutionary for who?" In hopes of highlighting the comedic aspects of this pessimistic question I combined a more retro idea of robots with a work setup that has become easily recognizable to most cartoonists, based mostly on my own. This traditional aspect of this piece originally threw me for a loop, as marker on paper can be unforgiving. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the subdued look and limited color pallet my medium provided me. Mimicking an editorial cartoon style, I wanted the audience to walk away with a bittersweet thought on technology and labor along with the humor and tragedy that can be derived from it.

Being honest, this comic is representative of personal annoyances I have run into on the internet. If a person spends any amount of time on larger online platforms they are almost guaranteed to be exposed to any variety of inflammatory or rage inducing material. Between hand lettering and using only traditional inking supplies I wanted this work to force me to immerse myself in these inflammatory opinions. In an interesting turn of events, after creating this piece I have found it easier to take a step back when I begin falling down internet rabbit holes. Though not a self-portrait, the piece is a reflection of myself and forced me to take a look at my own actions. I can only hope that onlookers can come away from the piece with a funnier view on the somewhat dreadful state of online spaces.

Something sci-fi writers have considered for decades is how our first contact with extraterrestrial life would go. Despite many often deciding on war or disappointment, I'd like to offer up another scenario to consider. Even if I and others are constantly thinking about worst case situations, I wanted to indulge my more hopeful side with a piece that primarily utilized comedy and shared experience. This is my fourth time drawing a waffle house, and I think I’ve improved with each new work. Hopefully, if someone observing this piece isn’t familiar with late-night waffle house runs or street fashion, there is something fun in the concept of aliens arguing about directions.

It often feels like society jumps to split into two camps regarding the technology of the future. One claims that it will lead to nothing but ruin while the other states it’ll be our only savior. I'm not one to take sides on the issue, so instead I hoped to highlight the contrast of the negative views of modern tech placed against their somewhat underwhelming subject. Having an opportunity to work with a variety of subjects was a fun challenge that was extremely helpful in presenting the differences in available tech. I didn’t go into this piece with many goals outside of making a cool collage, and I think I succeeded.