Today we’d like to introduce you to Kagen King.
Hi Kagen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Even as a child I had took a liken to politics and political cartoons, and that sort of satirical take on politics stuck with me. I started to go through my political foundation during 2020 when I was admitted into the Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah). I wanted to reeducate myself on American History, and as I continued to understand politics and hone in on my own ideology I wanted to my paintings to educate people and reflect my ideology. I use symbols and phrases that were easily recognizable to someone who could have had a basic understanding on American politics. That brought me back to studying political cartoons in how they conveyed a message that was “complicated” so simply into a couple of images. The idea of mocking those certain symbols and phrases are apparent in my paintings. Now that I continue to grow and become more frustrated with the current state of our country, both domestically and internationally, those paintings have a more sharpened, serious tone embedded within.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say yes and no. After graduating, June 2024, from SCAD I knew I had to find community. Being based in Athens, my natural instinct was to go to Atlanta where there was a blossoming creative community. I started to apply to open calls, being accepted by some and rejected by others. As I continued to meet new creative, like-minded people I felt towards to end of the year I wasn’t creating artwork for myself and moving away from being sharp and critiquing American politics and policies. I took some time away for a couple of months to reevaluate what I was creating for. That has been the hardest part of my journey thus far.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I create mixed media paintings that seek to challenge political ideologies surrounding current events. I draw on quotes and images from the media. I chop and change them to illustrate my perspective on current socio-political climate. I create layers to cover the information I want to restrict, and wipe away some portions of layers to reveal more information. By using bold lettering on top of the layers of paint gives the viewer the overview of the theme of a piece. Weaving different media and using bold headlines I try to capture the nature of politics and world events.
I’m proud of not compromising on my beliefs.
I’m uncompromising on my world view. I won’t bend or fold to the voice of authority. Maybe that’s my stubbornness, but I don’t really care.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books: The Communist Manifesto, Steal Like an Artist, The War of Art, The Creative Act, World of Art: Contemporary Painting
My Fiancee
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kagenking.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kagen.king/
