Biography
Having descended down into South Texas through the Hill Country one day long ago, Dick never claimed to be Texan, but his German heritage and love for tacos is something he shares with the inhabitants of the region. Having earned an MFA from Miami University, OH, he spent the worst years of his life up north, maturing artistically and refining an Iconoclasmatic Pop Art™ style shaped by his experiences as a recovering Catholic, cancer survivor and optimistic existentialist. He lives and works in his humble turquoise studio-home (Dick’s WurstHaus Art Shanty) near downtown San Antonio.
Statement
I strip away the psychological power of the “precious,” taboo, and sacred, revealing the true banality that lies behind the curtain. My imagery shifts the viewer’s perspective, reflecting back a more empathetic and relativistic view of the world, free of the subconscious manipulations of ritual archetype and tradition. It is in this context that the personal, cultural, and even biological purpose of my art is revealed.
All of this is done through combinations of monumentally mundane imagery with a layering technique that creates captivating universes of complex physical depth. My Iconoclasmatic Pop Art™ creations possess a perceptible history that gives them a more authoritative tone and sense of importance while the typographic elements and unexpected juxtapositions reveal a depth of concept and unique humor. After they have been more objectively reexamined, it becomes difficult to justify conventional beliefs, and we can see the truth behind our toxic cultural narratives.