The Live Dead Experience

Grateful Dead- Live 2021 Multilayer Relief Print Over Collaged Screen Prints on Hand Dyed Paper 36” x 24”

Grateful Dead- LP 2021 Multilayer Relief Print 36” x 24”

Posted on: June 7, 2021
Views: 506

Description

This past year, music has made its way to the forefront of my work. While it has always played a part in my studio process by informing my color choices and palettes, I have started to focus on the emotional effect of experiencing music and the people who make it, specifically the 60?s jam band the Grateful Dead. My installation consists of two large poster-sized prints, both featuring the same multilayer relief print of several members of the ?Dead? in concert; one is printed on top of a collage made up of torn screen prints, and the other over a solid flat of color. By displaying these pieces together, I am comparing the impermanence of live performance with the reproducibility of studio records through the use of appropriated symbols which are representative of different parts of the concert experience. This visual sampling is the result of extensive research into the Grateful Dead?s tour scene, as well as growing up listening to colorful stories told by my parents who got to live it for themselves. I aim to pay reverence to the band themselves, as well as the artists and poster designers that created the visual language of expressive and psychedelic art.




Other Projects by James Cousens III

James Cousens III

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BFA Alumni

Major: Printmaking

Graduation Year: 2021


Artist Statement:

This past year, music has made its way to the forefront of my work. While it has always played a part in my studio process by informing my color choices and palettes, I have started to focus on the emotional effect of experiencing music and the people who make it, specifically the 60’s jam band the Grateful Dead. I aim to pay reverence to the band themselves, as well as the artists and poster designers that created the visual language of expressive and psychedelic art.

https://portfolio.meca.edu/
https://portfolio.meca.edu/