PANDEMIC-ERA ACTIVITIES

During the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic the world shut down for a couple of years. While all this was happening I did manage to do some work with the 131 Inclusion Gallery. What follows is my effort to chronicle that work with this vital local organization:

131 Inclusion's Featured Artist: C.F. Roberts

The arc of my expression, whether it was work in a band from the mid-80s, publishing a zine in the early to mid 90s, writing from the late 80s 'til today or creating video from the late 90s on out, up to my return to the visual arts in the mid-oughts, has always been informed by a strident, DIY Underground aesthetic and I don't draw much of a line between any of the above endeavors.

     My art series began with Little Windows (2006-2010), where I found myself, following the backbrain impulse, leaning heavily on my cartoon muses and nailing my canvases into one another a la Schwitters....

      In Purgatory (2011-2013) was an attempt to chronicle kind of a “Book of the Dead” for that moment in American Culture; It was the beginning of the full realization of my mosaics, utilizing fine art mediums, more rudimentary stuff, pop culture items, trash and anything I could get my hands on to express what was going on in my head; The Apocalypse (2016-2018) took it to the next level and coincided with the reunion of my band and work on our album....the two current series, Soft Rock (which pushes the ideas of intuitive angst and trauma directly through the lens of Bigfoot comic stylings) and Hot Garbage (which looks at the power of flesh through either its use or abuse) are in production concurrently.

Featured Art: "This sort of thing doesn't happen in a Vacuum"

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131 Inclusion's Featured Artist: C.F. Roberts (Part 2)

INTERESTING FACTS:

I'm high-functioning Autistic. This is something I learned later in life (early 2000s). When I grew up in the 60s and 70s it was obvious to the adults in my life that I had some problems. No one could figure them out because no one at that time had any notion of an Autism Spectrum. I was back-diagnosed through a number of younger family diagnoses. This discovery helped me understand, much more clearly, my issues, from difficulty in social interaction to hypersensitivity, sensory issues, obsession with patterns and so on. As perception is so big a part of my creative process, understanding many of my own issues and where they come from has opened up a lot of interesting avenues in my work.

I'm a born-again visual artist. I had artistic aspirations as a kid and wanted to draw comics as a teenager. In my latter days in high school, well-meaning adults tried to dissuade me and steer me into more pragmatic directions (I became a writer...joke's on them). I always remained interested in art, however. When a neighbor, who was an accomplished painter, left town he offered me his art supplies if I would clean out his apartment. Deal. I began painting and drawing as a hobby in my 40s and art eventually ate my brain.

I live in Fayetteville with my wife, Heather, who's an amazing writer, commentator and cultural historian. We have two cats and six rats and we enjoy chilling at home.

Featured Art: Abomination 2

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131 Inclusion's Featured Artist: C.F. Roberts (Part 3)

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE REGIONAL ARTS SCENE

While Northwest Arkansas has not yet become the wonderful Autonomous Zone I'd like it to be, the great, creative wild west we can all run amok in, it's come a long way in the past decade and a half, from the old art amiss showings to great museums like Crystal Bridges that we're so fortunate to have, plus galleries big and small popping up all over. Here's hoping that what we're seeing right now is just the beginning!

In the early oughts I was one of a group of people who spearheaded a small film festival though the U of A. People asked me for A long time afterwards if we were going to do more----the point was never to be the new big dogs on the block----it was that anyone can do an event. Have a film festival in your garage. Have an art show in your back yard. Have Woodstock at the Elk's Club. DIY, people. How about a pop-up art event on every corner? Don't just think outside the box----LIVE outside the box!!!!

Featured Art: Threats and Warnings

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In 2022 131 Inclusion Gallery had an exhibit in Springdale, Arkansas with many of the artists who appeared in this collection. These are two off my paintings that were shown:

Check out these works on display and for sale. They are by local artist, C. F. Roberts. They will be on display until our closing reception on July 22nd.

Thanks to Eris and 131 Inclusion Gallery for allowing me to be a part of their important work in the local art community. Check them out if you get a chance.

cfr