Artist Talk Paper

Caitlin Pupich

Artist Talk Paper

ART 245

Sean Caulfield

            Living in Alberta, where the economy was largely driven by oil, the first works he showed us emphasized the environment he lived in. He would simply walk in the rural areas and then draw what he saw from memory. He varied his work later by studying early science in alchemy and combining them with the world today. His work, which comes in many forms such as silkscreens, woodcuts, and linocuts, reflect his mixture of the landscapes and science through linear structures connected by fantastical abstract formations. 

            Later, his art took a different direction when he collaborated with a poet and created a book in which they would simultaneously make drawings and poetry to match on the same concepts of industrialization and the environment. This led to another collaboration with his brother who worked in bioethics. Caulfield talked directly to stem cell researchers and began to realize that one of their greatest problems was the misinterpretation of their research in the media.  Often, the media portrays this work in the most extreme senses of good and bad.  Therefore, his final work, which was created with silkscreen and drawing, ended up using whimsical abstract shapes combined with a dark and brooding background and composition.  This was meant to capture both the benefits and dangers and biotechnology. He continues to work on project collaborations that look at similar themes such as how science and technology can change society’s perceptions of the human body, and looking at how vaccines affect our world today. He also continues projects that look at the combination of the environment with modern society.

            Overall, each of his works captures a whimsical yet threatening emotion that identifies the many odd combinations he encounters. These most often include his common ideas of ethics of science as well as the industrialization of the environment.