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Mike Norkin is a New York-based painter.
Mike Norkin. Quadra, 2003. Mixed Media on Canvas, 36 x 48 in. Courtesy of the artist.I have always had an affinity for nature in my work, growing up watching a lot of nature programs on PBS. With respect my earlier period, I wanted to abstract already obscure animal and plant segments. I started out by using old National Geographic Magazines as a source, tracing various organic images. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered a book by Ernst Haekel, an eminent German biologist, naturalist, and an accomplished lithographer in the 19th century. His publication, Kunstformen der Natur, (Artforms of Nature), 1904 served as the perfect source from which I could base my collages. A recently released edition of his work features color plates, which makes the job of tracing much easier.
My work embodies subjects that range in subject from simple-celled organisms to political and societal statements; I tend not to gravitate towards any one subject. These ideas are set within portal-like spaces of rimmed pumice. The overall effect is dimensional and draws the viewer in with intensely contrasted colors. I derive a lot from a Pop Art aesthetic, where an emphasis is placed in an animated billboard setting. Penalty, for instance, takes on the theme of imprisonment/torture, with visual references taken from The Spanish Inquisition. Pontiffs frame the central image of a man undergoing a form of water torture. The title Penalty holds a double meaning, as the image is also making reference to Guantanamo Bay and the torture of "suspected" terrorists. The concept of torture and interrogation transcends time and place. I portray the leaders of the faith unkindly, physically deforming them, representing them for what they truly are—as hypocritical in their morality.
Deception and ALTEREGO further advance the theme of hypocrisy and arrogance. With the acquisition of power of any kind the subjects reveal themselves as ugly. In ALTEREGO I draw inspiration from popular culture in order describe my subject matter. Bush, Cheney, Rove, and Rumsfeld placed alongside Howdy Doody (puppet figure-head), Lex Luthor (evil corporate entity), Goebbals (fanatical propagandist), and The Dark Emperor Darth Sideous (war monger). Deception is my take on the world of people who deem themselves as perfect, those who place themselves above others as icons, but in fact are much less than meets the eye. They are the actors, models, and rock stars of the world that abuse themselves with drugs, and abuse others around them as a result. The real "deception" here is that the public looks up to these people and idolizes them.
Quadra represents work derived from a more surrealistic setting from an earlier period, with the appropriation of natural elements. The flow of the organisms mirrors the course of waves and the images of the 17th-century artist Hokusai, who employed a style typical of Japanese paintings if the period. The intended effect is one of motion, creating a meditative, halcyon-like experience.
