Underneath It All, Things Are Burning!

A lot of the gunpowder drawings I do are simple things. Some of the figures have hands, eyes, and teeth. Some don't have any. My work is simple and crudely drawn.

Maybe I'm too simple?

I draw them quickly.

I use high-speed fuse.

The explosions are fast.

Why am I in such a hurry?

Maybe I'm deeply rooted in some societal issue. So many things need fixing, I must need to move fast. Am I blurring the line between medium and message?  I don't think so.  But gunpowder and fire tend to blur things.

Like Scott Walker.

My ideas come from lots of places. Walking. Reading. Music. Photographs.  No set plan here, things just come to me.

I don't think my drawings are menacing.  Or violent.  Or sexually explosive. I need to work on that.  Maybe if I smudge my work more, that will help?

A sexy smudge.

Am I drawing the collective unconsciousness of the city?  Everyone seems so happy. But underneath it all, things are burning.

Like me.

Okay, time to start smudging.

Stick Vega is the American Gunpowder Artist and author of LESS KILLING. He creates explosive pop art and blogs from The Blast Factory in Madison, WI. Follow Stick on Facebook and/or Twitter.