Welcome to TTP Mike Egan Part I
April 9th, 2012 | By: Ben
Mike Egan, Murder
Welcome our newest TTPer, Pittsburgh arttst Mike Egan. Mike has a common theme in just about all of his works – can you guess it? No? We’ll give you a clue. Ummm it’s the only thing for sure in life besides taxes and it rhymes with bleath. Got it?
Mike Egan, Sending Each Other Prayers
One of my favorite Jack Kerouac quotes is about poetry and death. He said that the only thing serious enough to write poetry about is death, and I love it because it’s not necessarily a morbid comment. It’s more about the various interpretations of death. It’s a quote as much about the seriousness of poetry as an art form as it is about death’s adaptability as a subject, and it is within that adaptability that Mike Egan works. A former embalmer in funeral homes, his obsession with death isn’t only about morbidity or loss or blood or violence or spiritual goals – his obsession is about all the above. It’s about the ways in which we interpret the one thing (or second thing, after taxes) that we all have to go through.
Mike Egan, Hello Mr. Devil
Of course interpretations of death vary from culture to culture, religion to religion, society to society, and canvas to canvas. Mike is clearly approaching death from a standpoint of openness, embracing everybody’s interpretations, and that’s where the power of his work comes from. Even as it’s influenced by the Day of the Dead, for example, Mike’s isn’t work that’s tied to one particular tradition. It feels like the universality in his expression matches the universality of the subject.
Mike Egan, Here’s My List
We’ll be talking more about Mike’s work throughout the week. In the meantime, you can see his whole TTP collection here.
