OF TRAVIS HETMAN’S
ARTISTRY
Words & Photos: Joseph Findeiss
Imagine, if you will, two objects existing, simultaneously, on the
same plane of space and time, bending the boundaries of relativity. Spectral images of the past and present, converging amidst
geometric anomalies; shadowy doorways opening into unfamiliar
universes and dimensions. Parallax perspectives and repetition
give a sense of a skipping record evoking a deja vu that sits like
a rock in the pit of your stomach. Dark matter that overwhelms
those who possess it like a parasite to its host, emerging with
explosive force. Nameless places that affirms in our subconscious that time is neither linear nor constant pass through the
portal and enter a realm of mystery that exists just beyond the
threshold.
Travis Hetman invites you to behold the places he interweaves
by melding technical realism with ethereal existentialism in
what can simply be described as otherdimensional. Hetman
almost forces his audience out of the comfortable concept
of reality and implores others to redefine the constructs of
space and time with his deftly and thoughtfully executed
drawings. Despite the simplicity of his media - pencil, ink,
and watercolor, Hetman’s work is extraordinary complex, not
just in content but also in its philosophy regarding humanity’s tendency towards contradiction. His drawings often
incorporate historical and/or pop cultural figures, baseball
idols of yesteryear, busts of Greek philosophers, notable
musicians, as well as lions and bears, oh my. Hetman’s avenues are lined by themes of childhood innocence which
become either obscured or obliterated by Hetman’s dark
matter or by angst through existentialism and nihilism. A
“Billie Jean” era Michael Jackson drawing a portrait of
Franz Kafka, Hitler orating on the subject of Hitler orating,
a bust of Aristotle juxtaposed by device of war, all have a
playful but satirical commentary on societal precepts of
modernity.
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InkSpiredMagazine.com