A Gigantic Crime Scene

untitled by Aaron Coleman
3”x5”; found paper and glue; 2018. Courtesy of the artist.

FROM KOLAJ 29

Aaron Coleman’s Artist Portfolio
Tucson, Arizona, USA

“Earth is a disaster area, a gigantic crime scene,” writes Aaron Coleman. “My work takes on the characteristics of this global chaos. Each piece is an explosive combination of comic book pages, religious iconography and advertising which illustrates a world in ruin and the heroes and villains who occupy it.” The artist uses the architecture of vintage cathedral tour guides as the theatre for comic book characters and scenes from Arizona Highways magazine. An apocalyptic aesthetic radiates through his world.

A portfolio of Coleman’s work appears in Kolaj 29. To see the complete Artist Portfolio, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.

untitled by Aaron Coleman
3”x5”; found paper and glue; 2018. Courtesy of the artist.

I do not plan the collages. The whole purpose of the collages I make now is to be spontaneous and let the imagery guide each move. Each collage begins with an image of cathedral architecture. This image lays out all the ‘rules’ for the final collage. The perspective, scale, lighting and atmosphere are all dictated by the architecture.

A portfolio of Coleman’s work appears in Kolaj 29. To see the complete Artist Portfolio, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.

Aaron Coleman is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Arizona. He holds an MFA from Northern Illinois University and has taught all levels and media in printmaking at California State University Fresno and Northern Illinois University. Coleman also taught traditional stone lithography at the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. He has exhibited internationally and received numerous awards, scholarships and fellowships for his work in lithography and mezzotint. His work can be found in the collections of The University of Colorado, Wichita State University, the Ino-cho Paper Museum in Kochi, Japan, The Yekaterinburg Museum of Art in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Ewing Gallery Collection and many other public and private collections. Learn more at the Kolaj Magazine Artist Directory and at www.aaroncolemanprintmaking.com.