Chad Rea - Hackfort Live

Chad Rea joins us from Austin! You may have seen Chad from when he was a headliner at Hackfort 2019.

We talk about what he's been up to, art, politics, guns, technology, and his new book called OH MY GOD, GUNS, AND COUNTRY: The Art and Artivism of Chad Rea 2017­–2021. Buy it for $30 at chadrea.com.

The Bio:
The paintings, sculptures, and digital works of Chad Rea explore the duality of self and the inner struggle to understand our changing world.

Drawing upon current political, ethical, and social issues, and utilizing communication techniques mastered as an advertising copywriter, Rea juxtaposes colorful and iconic imagery with cultural insights designed to surprise, inform, entertain, and ultimately get participants to act.
Born in Inglewood, California to conservative, working-class parents, Rea’s exposure to a limited worldview remained constant throughout his childhood as he moved between cities in Texas where guns, oil, bigotry, and right-wing Christian values surrounded him. Moving to a different city an average of every four years continued into his adult life, now totaling 11 cities across 3 countries. With each stop came seemingly more varied and enlightened locales with entirely new philosophies.

Ever fascinated by advertising – even as a teen, Rea found himself seeking ways to influence large groups of people through entertainment and the art of persuasion. As a copywriter and Creative Director, he created award-winning campaigns for iconic brands, often looking to the art world for inspiration, namely Warhol, Holzer, Krueger, Koons, and Hurst.

After several collaborative art projects, his growing need to create positive social impact began to bubble to the surface in his work as he experimented with more subversive ways to inspire positive change.

Today, his artwork can best be described as artivism, focusing on the events of the day as they relate to spirituality, gun violence, mental health, climate change, and self-help.

The Book:
Having spent more than two decades creating ad campaigns for over 170 brands, I’d like to think I know a good slogan when I see one. And while this one isn’t exclusive to the Lone Star Red State, or officially blessed, I’d say “God, guns, and country” sums up the Texas brand pretty darn well – if not one half of The Divided States.

Depending on which piece of cheap, imported merch you come across, the country part of the phrase can be interpreted to mean country music, ‘Merica, or the country of TEXAS. Sometimes you’ll see “country” replaced with words like guts, glory, oil, or breakfast tacos, but the two parts you just don’t mess with are God and guns. Them’s fighting words. And, despite spending my formative years in El Paso and San Antonio as a gun-shootin’, church-goin’ conservative, and then returning twice in my liberalized adult life to Lubbock, Dallas, and now Austin, I’ve chosen to fight the good fight. With art.

As an artivist, “God, guns, and country” are like trigger words for me, providing fuel for much of the themes behind my work – be it related to politics, violence, mental health, mortality, climate change, or other matters of the heart.

Perhaps a more accurate title for this 5ish-year collection of curated works would’ve been “Spirituality, social issues, and place.” Although, I’m pretty sure that’s California’s slogan, and I’d hate for my neighbors to think I was born there.

“Bold sensibility to personal works, rendering arch commentary on current events via creative gambits that strike like, oh, let’s say Banksy x Warhol, leaving modern follies in smoldering ruins.”
— 2020 Top 10’s Visual Arts - The Austin Chronicle

About Hackfort Live:
Hackfort Live is a bi-weekly live show where the Hackfort directors talk about Hackfort, technology, tech news, interview guests, play games, and interact with you in the chat room!

More on Chad Rea:
https://vimeo.com/chadrea

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