When most think of animal imagery, fluffy, nice creatures usually come to mind. I want to show you another side. Some of the stranger animal imagery I know is that created by Ralph Slatton. I had a good opportunity to review his work at Culver Stockton College some years ago. I was impressed enough to write this article about the experience.
Ralph Slatton is not at all like his images, which are dark and brooding. Rather, he is a gregarious, witty man of poderous stature, somewhat unpolished, but always genuine and kind. He sometimes enjoys rather deep discussions which are a little hard to follow, but he gives enough clues that make the adventure worthwhile.
As I mentioned earlier, he and his art seem to be in opposite arenas. Perhaps, arena is a good word to describe this relationship. He does seem at odds with his imagery. I'm only guessing here, but I wonder if he isn't somehow working out some personal questions. This may seem like an obvious point, because he does cover the symbolism in his work. However, some may discount artist statements, in general, as being so much fluff. However, I don't see this with Slatton's work, either verbally or visually. He produces an honest product not related to the glitz and glamour of trendy gallery stuff. He quietly makes his images, using a 16th century processs called intaglio. He essentially covers a piece of copper with a black coating and then draws through its surface with a sharp tool. The exposed lines are etched, inked and printed.
Let me now introduce the artwork. Slatton depicts animals of all kinds. I see cows, rabbits ( I especially love the rabbits!), frogs, dogs, lots of dogs. He can be a bit graphic with his symbolism. Animals may be seen to lose limbs, or find themselves in all kinds of strange traps, in very dark environments. Even though he makes the statement that there is some humor to be seen, his world doesn't look very laughable to me. In fact, Slatton's animals tend to be a little grotesque.
What is most striking about Slatton's work is the command of his artistic materials. As mentioned earlier, he enjoys the intaglio process, a process not to be confused with mass produced poster art. Slatton's process is done using a hand cranked press. Although printed in multiples, each print is said to be unique in a personal way. He speaks the language of a printmaker very well. His work develops a marvelous use of tone and the compositions are a visual feast. Ok, some may think that his work is a little too blatant, or off the wall, but he makes up for it with his visual excitement.
