Ben Venom: Heavy Metal Quilting | YBCA Bay Area Now 6
Channel: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Date: 20/09/2011

Artist Ben Venom fuses his life in the Atlanta punk rock scene with his sewing craft, whereby the aggressive force of heavy metal collides with the soft form and slow practice of quilting.

About Ben Venom:
Mr. Ben Venom aspires to be a visual commentator on the unique culture found in the Southern United States. Having been born and raised in the dirty south he is very conscious and aware of his Southern roots. Venom sees his work as a reinvention of his southern identity and an attempt to critique and praise this unique and historic geographic region. The majority of the work operates in response to his nickname, Venom. Much like a truck driver's handle, Venom functions as an identity or brand in the form of flags, banners and tobacco products. Southern politics, racing, and heavy metal all play a vital role in this ongoing body of work. Cultural icons from rural America's lowbrow aesthetic are borrowed and re-formatted. Mr. Ben Venom graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2007 with a Master of Fine Arts. He was included in the 20th annual Los Angeles National Print competition and the recipient of an emerging artists scholarship at Anderson Ranch Art Center. His work has been shown both nationally and internationally, including: Neurotitan Gallery (Berlin, Germany), Guerrero Gallery, Youngblood, Western Exhibitions, and P.O.V. Evolving. Mr. Venom has lectured at the California College of Art, Zeum Children's Museum and Untitled Gallery in Oklahoma City, OK.

About Bay Area Now 6 at YBCA:
Bay Area Now debuted in the summer of 1997 as a much needed platform for assessing the state of the visual arts in the San Francisco/Bay Area region, and to bring to the public's attention the work of exceptional artists active in the local art scene. Throughout the triennial's almost fifteen-year history it has continued to be the barometer of what is happening in the arts by placing new work into the limelight making it available to the general public. At each historical juncture, Bay Area Now has played a significant role in providing a platform, by marking the interplay between contemporary art and other innovative activities that have come to define the region. 

More @ http://ybca.org/ban6-visual-exhibition

Music via Free Music Archive @ http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Raspberry_Bulbs/LIVE_on_My_Castle_of_Quiet_7152011/07_-instrumental-I_Will_Not_Pretend