Expressionisms
Dixon Stuelke © 2024
Industrial Art, Exhibit One
This piece was inspired by a picture my dad had on the hallway wall. I tried to make the image on the front exactly like my memory of Dad’s picture, but I am not an artist.
Dad’s picture was simple broad dark brown strokes, like old boards, on light brown, like old paper, and showed the anguish on the captive’s face, the pleas, the hope in his hand, all in shadows. Captivating. I loved staring into its depths.
Mine looks like a clown, compared to Dad’s.
The nice thing about using tape cutouts instead of paint is, you can rework them ad infinitum. Just peel it off and cut new stickers until you get it right. But I finally gave up trying to match the memory.
I wished I had Dad’s picture, or a copy; I’d sought it everywhere. So I made this practice piece, exhibit number one of my new invention, Industrial Art, as a tribute to my father and to the fondness he gave me for gazing at artpieces.
Let me know how you like it.
Here is the wide view of the whole front with the door shut . . .
. . . and here is a close-up.
Here is the wide view with the door opened . . ,
. . . the close-up inside the door . . .
. . . and the hole where the fuses used to be. Photographing this was difficult. The clear acrylic is bumpy; its scattering of the light obliterated the words, everything always looked light gray. The clearest shot I got turned out off-center; clearly I am not a photographer.
My college student friends loved “Expressionisms”. The Psych and Art majors said it shows profound insight into the human condition. It’s true. College kids really do talk that way.
The “1” is not for January; it’s the first piece of Industrial Art. “1997” is the year it was made. The “DM” stands for Dixon Mason, which was my stage name back then, for the comedy-poetry shows you may know about from “Unentitled” and “That’s my Way”. I figured Dixon Mason the poet might as well be Dixon Mason the artist too, since Dixon Stuelke’s neither one, and preferred it viewed as legitimate Art.
I took it to an art professor, who gave me a blank look and said, “What do you want me to say about this, Mr. Stuelke?”. I asked does it have merit as a legitimate artpiece, is it expressive of the human condition. “I can’t give out opinions on those sorts of things.”.
But I like to think it’s legitimate Art, even if it’s tape on steel not paint on canvas. Besides, my brother says, “Anyone can be a real artist, even me.” Click here 
to see, third down under “General FAQ”.
Then come back and browse my buttons.
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