The taste of stale beer mixed with vomit, dirt, and the stink of human sweat. The oxygenation of the iron in blood hitting air as ink and the light buzz of tattooing needles hit flesh; all while punk rock rages on in the background. These are only some of the things that make RAW artist Tim Wengertsman’s world go round.
A Manchester native, Tim received his BFA in printmaking from the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School. Following in the footsteps of of Kathy Kollwitz, a German Expressionist printmaker, whose work depicts death and poverty in the face of war, Tim’s work is honest; depicting a subculture of a culture that the mainstream world has all but become deaf too. “These prints are a primitive look at the underground Hartford scene full of crust punks and bike couriers, Rebelling musicians, artists and people who just like to party and have a good time.” He gives them voice through the use a style that is both grotesquely gritty and boldly beautiful with the use of strait black and paper white on a massive scale making it almost impossible to stop and take notice.
With compositions that borrow from Byzantine era imagery such as “The Last Supper” “St. George and the Dragon” and the “Madonna and Child”, the work becomes provocative, iconic, “I make images of what I love; beer, tattoos, bands, shows, bikes, punk rock, my friends, my family, traveling, touring in a band, or just taking a nice crap…simple as that.” this paired with the iconic nature of his work gives the images and lifestyle a feeling of “HOLY”. But they are also a platform used to discuss things that make him angry; racism, the state of the political world, rampant homophobia, and the squander of capitalism.
Looking to the work this can be seen in the piece “The Last Supper in Hartford”. Depicting a vomiting Tim being held up by his girlfriend while being surrounded by his friends with the caption “EATING THE RICH BECAUSE WE’RE POOR”. It is a call to action to all those angry with the current state of our world.
Currently Tim’s work can be found either at the EBK Gallery, where Tim works as a framer, which can be found at http://ebkframing.com/artists/tim-wengertsman/ or out on the road as he rages out on the drums as a member of the punk band OILTANKER whose music can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oiltanker/178083802211595?fref=ts.
Be sure to check out all the other RAW artists every First Thursday at the Russian Lady. Next month, come and marvel at out next showcase “Marvel” on Thursday April 4th. Doors open at 8 and remain so till midnight, for tickets, information about our artists and more about RAW can be found at http://www.rawartists.org/hartford
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