John McKaig
John McKaig
Website: http://johnmurraymckaig.com
Bio:John McKaig is a professor of drawing and figure drawing at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. He received a BFA in printmaking from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and an MFA from Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. He has taught printmaking,painting and figure drawing at Syracuse University, drawing and illustration at Cazenovia College, and all levels of painting, drawing, printmaking and photography at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, before his current position at Bloomsburg University. John McKaig has exhibited work in group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and Internationally - recently at the Bankside Gallery in
London, UK, and solo exhibitions at Lycoming College and the Pennsylvania State University in Pennsylvania.
Artist Statement: I create pictures that help me explore the idea of escape, ideas of mortality and passage after life, and about how to deal with trauma and healing from that trauma. My use of the figure explores my identity as a queer man that is still expected to justify my experiences and basic human identity. I use nautical imagery, water and the human figure in order to communicate essential ideas of how we relate to each other, how we affect each other, and how to move to space that is empowering and encouraging. I often depict the figure (or figurative elements or components) in situations or stances that allude to ideas of fighting back, play and wonderment, as well as stoicism and quiet resolve. I also work with the idea of “passage” and “journey” not only to communicate ideas of healing and working through trauma, but also to communicate the idea of growing beyond limitations and definitions of being.