SVA's Michael Bilsborough

Courtesy of the artist

Michael Bilsborough, "Safety in Numbers" (2005)

Courtesy of the artist

Michael Bilsborough, "Thumbs Up" (2005)

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Artist’s Statement:

Men and women couple, compete and retreat in these episodes of sexual misadventure. The drawings depict bacchanalian bashes and mysterious rituals, which become venues for power struggles between the participants.

In these scenes, the figures are entangled in the perennial problems of the confrontation of the sexes, of gender posturing and of group dynamics. They respond by forming ambiguous relationships and tenuous claims to control.

Gender hierarchy dissolves into gender anarchy. Play turns violent and sex threatening. It's unclear whether the players will enjoy these acts or even survive. And it’s often unclear what roles and qualities we can ascribe to each character; thus, the struggle extends to the viewer.

The drawings examine ways that interior space, perspective and placement of figures can simultaneously fulfill formal and narrative purposes. The focus on volume and space establishes psychological distance and time, while perspective produces a theatrical setting for the mise-en-scène and leads the audience into a voyeuristic role.

Meanwhile, the carefully calculated drawing style, based in measurement and correction, challenges the visceral, spontaneous nature of the behavior it depicts. It's the Cool looking at the Hot, the Clean looking at the Dirty.

Interested in the potential for storytelling in art, I selected a graduate program that includes fine art and illustration. To use an illustration vernacular for my personal work enables me to connect with a range of cultural strata and to load the images with layers of significance.

My program also guides me in developing a craft to guide my art practice. The last 50 years of art have challenged on multiple fronts the division between high and low art, or fine art and illustration. Contemporary artists now enjoy a more inclusive mode of art making—a wider playing field.

Artist's Biography:

Michael Bilsborough was born in California. He received a BA from Columbia University in 2001 and his MFA from School of Visual Arts in 2006. He currently lives and works in New York. His work will on view at the upcoming Affordable Art Fair, being held from June 16-18 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.

About SVA's MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Program:

The MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program at the School of Visual Arts has been created to help students refine and define their personal vision. The curriculum is structured to broaden students' opportunities as figurative artists far beyond the conventional gallery wall to creating within the full range of 21st-century multimedia.

This is done by focusing on the goals of 1) fusing the development of creative thinking, technical and communication skills in order to express a personal vision; and 2) understanding how and where to apply the work produced and giving students the confidence to choose making art as a way of life and not simply as a career.

About SVA:

The School of Visual Arts in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.