The Best Fonda and other Collages

Chad Serhal 

My work deals with the reappropriation of movies, ads, and comic books through a filter I call Scüzz, which incorporates paint and a reckless use of the material.  Using layers of mediums of the visual language that is part of our daily lives, I am able to signify multiple meanings and suggestions using a visual code.  I take hold of identifiable images, like scenes from old films or comics, and make them my own, using techniques found in cartooning, graffiti tagging, satire, movie posters, Dada, Surrealism, and various forms of photo collage.  My collages consist of paint and paper on wood, are usually no bigger than a few inches, and are unusual shapes.  They are made of low and often recycled material.  They are for the common audience to think about, and not just the art world.

My art is an expression of how I feel, it is reflective of my influences, and it continues to challenge my creative impulses pushing the compositions further.  The work as a whole is process oriented, uses layers in its construction, and is referential of other works of art, including my own interdisciplinary art.

Scüzz is a redirecting of cinema, is taking ownership of advertising, and is a retelling of sequential art as scenes are altered and icons are defaced.  Scüzz processes an untouchable high art into a low brow domestic object.  Scüzz is lucid dreaming.  Scüzz is art referencing itself.  Scüzz is “tag you’re it”.  Scüzz is your mother’s refrigerator.  Scüzz is a pig in the sun.  Scüzz is 12 monkeys on a steep jetee.  Scüzz is a breathless Jim McBride.  Scüzz brings us back to the future.  Scüzz is why we can’t have nice things. www.chadserhal.com