 |
           |
JOSHUA RAY STEPHENS
Adjunct Instructor
"It Shines In Full Glory," acrylic and India ink on wood, 12" x 9" x 2", 2004
(click on image for larger view)
Joshua Ray Stephens teaches Graphic Design II: Word and Image at the Cooper Union School of Art.
"If I am anything then it is only by accident; everything I am not is intentional. I am attempting to create a body of work, which overwhelms the senses through the eyes. You know that shortness of breath, hot flash, welling of tears, and fluttering heart that appear inexplicably when you walk into a cathedral, or a mosque, or a temple, or the jungle, or the desert? Well I have never been to any of those places but by jove I know the feeling. Or perhaps the dizzying effect caused by the seemingly chance sighting of a future love. Do you know that feeling? We all know the one, right? That is the effect I am striving for first and foremost. All else is secondary, tertiary, and beyond.Though H.P. Lovecraft would have us all believe it is not possible: I love life AND I read. Narrative is very important for me, though I cannot say that I fully comprehend in what way. I hail from the Deep South where people have the time to tell each other long stories. I do know that. I can't, for sooth, say that I remember most of them, which is why I make them up as I go along.
I have gone along from 33 degrees latitude to similar climes in Italy where I climbed the ladder of corporate graphic design for a year. I met a prophet there and followed him to the outskirts of seemingly war torn Detroit where I lived and studied for 2 years. I now live and work in the Bloody Hook of Brooklyn; just look for the spotted R."
Joshua's work has appeared in Emigre, Colors Magazine, Sugo, Step Inside Design, and the NY Press. He has done design work for Benetton, World Wildlife Foundation, UN Volunteers, Colors Magazine, Nikon, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Studio Camuffo, Alessi, and more. His work has been shown at Fude No Sato Koubou Gallery (Hiroshima, Japan), Studio Camuffo (Venice, Italy), and Forum Gallery (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan).
| BACK |