News |

FOR LATEST NEWS CHECK OUT THE INSTAGRAM FEED.

STAY TUNED FOR 2016 PROJECTS.LOTS GOING ON!

Exit Light, Enter Night at Meredith College. Part of the PULL show.

LOTS OF PROJECTS PLANNED FOR THE SUMMER OF 2014

VISIT TO MICA – OCTOBER 4th, 2012

In October I was a visiting artist in the Printmaking Department at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). I talked a bit and then we did a lino block jam session. Always good to spend time in one of the most excellent print departments in the country!

_________________________________________________________________________

“BIG ASS” SHOW IN LONDON
Here’s an announcement for a show organized by Nick Morley at High Roller Society in London, UK. I’ll be represented by a skull and a hooligan image.

_________________________________________________________________________

DAVIDSON COLLEGE VISIT
Had a terrific visit with my buddy Brian Garner and his crew at Davidson College. We cranked out about 70 shirts in 3 hours.

Big Boss Cat. Text design by Aron Fay, printed by Davidson College printmaking students.

_________________________________________________________________________

SPREADING THE LINO GOSPEL AT UNC-SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
October 12, 2011

Had a great time visiting the art students at the UNC-SA. Everybody got a shirt.
Thanks to Mark Brown for making it happen.

Will Taylor photo

__________________________________________________________________

FICK AND HUCK AT FROGMAN’S July 10 – 17, 2011

Tom Huck at I taught the Relief Print Shootout at Frogman’s Printmaking Workshop in Vermillion South Dakota last week. Very hard working, talented group of students + plenty of fun and beer.

_________________________________________________________________________

Work Shown at Philip Slein Gallery in St. Louis.

________________________________________________________________________

The First Responder, Devil #1 and Pigbat @ Galerie Orange

Installation shot by Annie Lafleur

Dimensions: 30″ x 22″ each. Printed on Okawara with black ink.
Artists Proofs (AP) 2010.

_________________________________________________________________________

Prints at Galerie Orange in Montreal from January 20 – February 20, 2011

My friend Louis-Pierre Bougie included me in a show at Galerie Orange in Montreal. The show pairs visual artists with poets. Stefanie Kendall (another friend) provided the poem that matched the prints. Her poem is titled Fear Brokers.

It’s like this, see.
We broker the fear. We do
So you can stop brokering it with each other.

See First Responder there? Nice guy.
Skinless, blind,
Nerves exposed to feel what you might need in flood, earthquake, war, fire,
the freeze, heartache.

The rest of us? Not so nice, but we got a better sense of humor.

(With eyes, teeth for crushing, dripping skin, sweet smile and rigid scowl.
Horns and, ah, warts)

Back to you. Where were we? Ah!

Minutes pass slow as mourning, you seek water, sleep, cool skin.

You chew food, light light, oh, it’s pitch black at night. Pitch. Then fear comes visiting. Or in the morning. What if it never leaves? You fear poverty perhaps. Maybe your shelter is now a tarp on sticks, your home on a hillside pulverized? Maybe someone waits for you in dark places, watches you undress, hovers over you. Maybe you wash behind a sheet so others can’t see. But they can. Maybe you don’t have anything left. Maybe not even your government can help you. Maybe they got nothing too.

It would be easier to be out of your mind,
walk naked in the streets
talk to no one
Anyone
Striding with that mad pride. Nothing to lose. Everyone’s friend.

Humility? Oh, we got humility covered.

We know you intimately. We seen you turn off the light for beddy bye comfy-comfy. Seen you
mock man woman child. Seen you take like it was yours, bystand blankly. Seen you question
spouse mother father, the stranger’s motives or your own – and do it anyway.

We do business with the rich man, the poor man, the sharp man, the fool.

One thing we learned in this business: Fear equalizes.
You could say we act in the interest of social justice.

So just give it to us. Give all your fear to us.
It won’t cost you nothing.
(It’ll cost you more not to.)

_________________________________________________________________________

BillFick.com Censored By CMS

Recently (October) a student from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System (CMS) tried to access billfick.com on a school computer and was denied access due to the site being categorized as a “Sex Site”. Are zombies now considered naughty? Actually, I think it has to do with the German word Ficken. Here’s some details from About.com

der Fick (a/the) f–k (vulgar)
ein guter Fick = a good f–k, a good lay
ficken to f–k, have sex (vulgar)
mit jemandem ficken = to f–k s.o.

NOTE: The German forms of ficken are used only in a sexual sense. Most English f-expressions are conveyed in German by the Scheiß– prefix, leck mich am Arsch (kiss my ass), or some other expression. Examples: “F–k him!” = Der kann mich doch am Arsch lecken!; “This f-ing car!” = Dieses Scheißauto!; “We were just f-ing with you.” = Wir haben dich nur verarscht.; “F–k off!” = Verpiss dich!

_________________________________________________________________________

More Summer 2010

In late July I spent 5 days in Dallas doing a workshop with the folks at Brookhaven College. Don Taylor and David Newman run a great program down there!

Team Printmaking – Brookhaven College

Summer 2010 Update

Spent June and July teaching at the North Carolina Governor’s School East (at Meredith College in Raleigh). Terrific group of talented students from all over North Carolina. Super energizing to be around kids that want to make art and have fun while doing it.

Back row: Russel, Sam, Caitlyn, Sarvani, Allison, Will, Michaela. Middle row: Violette, Sara, Payton, Sallie, Liz, Caroline, Bill, Meirra, Tykeia, Kayli, Gavin. Front row: Jamison, Taylor, Griffin, Lydia

__________________________________________________________________________

Big Heads seen at New Hazlett Theater during Day of the Dead Events

The folks at the New Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh sent me these pictures taken during their Day of The Dead events back in October. Glow-in-the-dark might be the new way to go!

__________________________________________________________________________

AIR projects reviewed in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on February 25th, 2010

Since artists Robert Beckman and Ian Short founded Artists Image Resource on Pittsburgh’s North Side 14 years ago, it has become an influential leader in printmaking in the larger visual-arts community in the tri-state area. Producing museum-quality prints in many different media, Artists Image Resource is home for professional printmaking and also is emerging as an important educational institution in the region.

Each year since it opened, Artists Image Resource has initiated new work by three to six working artists under the guise of resident artists’ projects, which provide the engine for all other studio activities. The projects start as early as January and normally end with an exhibit in December.

“These projects have allowed us to create a laboratory environment that truly focuses on expanding the practices of individual artists,” Beckman says.

This year, Artists Image Resource supported three artists — William Fick, Stefan Hoffmann and Mark Franchino — whose works, Beckman says, “have influenced almost every visible aspect of this organization — from educational outreach material, to in-house production methods, to the look of our bathroom doors.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Printmaking Book Reviewed in Computer Arts Magazine (UK) – October Issue

________________________________________________________________________Visit to Maryland Institute College of Art – October 5 and 6, 2009
Got a chance to spend a few fun filled days at MICA showing prints and making t-shirts. Thanks to Brian Garner for making it happen.

_______________________________________________________________________

Design by Jason Fagg

The folks at Little Green Pig are putting on this play by John Justice. Last performances are this weekend July 16-18. Terrorist #1 made an appearance on the poster and card.

______________________________________________________________________

If you’re in Raleigh during the months of June and July check out this show at Rebus Works.

_______________________________________________________________________

Card – front and back – for “Middle of Nowhere” show at Lump Gallery in Raleigh. Curated by Jerstin Crosby. June 5 – 27.

______________________________________________________________________

Fick’s Ill-Tempered Zombie in show at Baer Ridgway in San Francisco.

Dark Americana
April 4th – May 9th, 2009
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 4th, 2009, 4pm – 6pm

Baer Ridgway Exhibitions is presenting Dark Americana, a group exhibitions featuring works that point to sinister aspects of American culture – excess, violence, fear, racism, torture, nuclear proliferation, Reaganomics, AIDS, homophobia, homelessness, and the art world, but do so with a certain sense of humor, while employing a form, style or material with traditional American roots.

_______________________________________________________________________

The Cloudy Collection

My friend David Huyck has put together a collection of letter press cards by several of his favorite artists.

“The Cloudy Collection is an ongoing collaboration with artists whose work I love. Every three months (or so) we will release a new collection of original, limited-edition prints for very affordable prices (US and Canadian shipping is free!) Plus, a portion of the sales will go toward an environmental organization.” -David Huyck

Check out the site at
CLOUDY COLLECTION.