About: Artist Robert Bean

MFA/Louisiana State University, 2001
BFA/Mississippi State University, 1997

In my recent work, I have been drawn to the past for my inspiration. Mythology and symbolism play a major role in my art. My influences are wide ranging, from painting to poetry, film, and music. My interest in these subjects has not manifested itself in my paintings in a literal way, but the symbolic possibilities seem endless. I like to think of my work as visual poetry, where I am not illustrating any given scene, but giving the essence of the narrative. This allows for a more open-ended interpretation and also allows the viewer to become more involved in the process.

Since the dawn of humankind, art and myth has been linked. From these myths and rituals spring the eternal symbol, the metaphor. The modern world has separated us from the contemplation of the sublime, so symbols are used to spur or imagination and help us recall our true nature. Symbols are threads that connect the world of the mundane to that of the ethereal. For these reasons, I use symbols in my work, not merely as a narrative devise, but also as a form of meditation of the sublime. I do not feel that my work should be seen as an illustration of any given thing but should be seen more as a myth, where multiple conclusions can be reached with no contradiction. The process of painting then becomes the ritual because without the ritual the symbol is meaningless. The act of painting itself becomes a symbol for life because its true potential is something that can only be glimpsed, but never mastered.

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