Alex Macon is an interdisciplinary artist and writer with a love of color and pop culture.
Alex Macon is a multidisciplinary artist and writer with a love of color and pop culture. Originally from Cleveland, he has a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati. Macon is a digital photographer and installation artist with focuses on color theory, pop culture, human anatomy, and the destruction of stereotypes and marginalization. As a photographer, his work addresses societal inequities and cultural experiences in a colorful, campy aesthetic. As a sculptor, he works primarily in wood, clay, metal, and fiber art. These pieces are quirky and colorful in nature, embracing the oddity of life, while also addressing important and poignant social issues.
His work remains focused on one thing: vibrancy. Not only vibrancy in colors, but the vibrancy that lies within the human race. With a unique perspective and voice, his work is filled to the brim with loaded references to his identity and views on the absurdity of the human experience.
FAQs
What’s up with the ski mask, man?
Men of color do not have a constructive identity in the eyes of our society. The ski mask is my attempt to reclaim agency over my image. The mask also acts as a social contract between me and you, the viewers of my work. I work hard to put my identity within the art pieces so that if you want to get to know me, I’m within the works.
What are your biggest Inspirations?
Pop music, Rap music, R&B music….House Music? I’m kidding! (not really.)
My main influences are 1990s cinema and fashion, reality television, cartoons, and the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Also the work of David LaChapelle, Parker Day, Awol Erizku, and Hank Willis Thomas.
But mostly music.
Why the loud colors? My eyes hurt.
Color is just a vehicle of visual reception. So why drive a Silver Prius, when you can drive a holographic monster truck?
Ok…that kinda didn’t make sense, but you get the point, right? Life is too short to live monochromatically. I see the world in technicolor and I think you should, too.
How can your work be serious, yet fun?
I have beliefs and opinions just like every one else; that’s what makes you who you are. We should talk about the things going on around us in depth, but I learned a long time ago that once you stop taking everything so seriously, that’s when the real fun begins. I address hard hitting topics in order to spark conversation, but I choose to use a bright color palette and dynamic textures in order to make it digestible and inviting. We’re all just here to have a good time, so let’s have one. The core of my work is militant, provocative, and genuine, but I have made the decision to craft a lurid, campy veneer for the outside.