Artist Statement
I am evaluating my place within the systems of my life through mixed media self-portraiture. My past work has explored my personal relationships with others, my relationship with myself, and alternate selves that span across the speculative multiverse. My present focus is on my role within the working world and more specifically around connections between domestication and labor. I investigate the role that I play as a consumer of farmed products, such as pre-packaged meat and plants, and what this type of food-as-product consumer ecosystem means for society. Because I work in a supermarket seafood department, I also evaluate my role as a distributor, someone who is complacent in the repackaging, movement, and sale of farmed products. As part of this inquiry, I provide commentary on the process in which corporations domesticate their labor force through the selection of compliant employees that will work quietly for little to no compensation. The three cycles of domestication that I exist within are: consumer/ food, raw unprocessed meat/ distributor, and worker/corporation.
Exploring a wide range of mediums enables me to produce works with methods and materials suitable to each aspect of my subjects. I work within painting, drawing, printmaking, and object making, with the mediums flowing together. I am always reacting and reinterpreting previous pieces. My work has always revolved around myself and my place within society, specific autobiographical situations, or imagined scenarios involving alter-egos from other worlds. I am an ideal subject to represent an average, common blue collar American worker. I have spent my life in low paying jobs of varying skill levels struggling from the exploitation of the worker and struggling to make ends meet along the way.
I am evaluating my place within the systems of my life through mixed media self-portraiture. My past work has explored my personal relationships with others, my relationship with myself, and alternate selves that span across the speculative multiverse. My present focus is on my role within the working world and more specifically around connections between domestication and labor. I investigate the role that I play as a consumer of farmed products, such as pre-packaged meat and plants, and what this type of food-as-product consumer ecosystem means for society. Because I work in a supermarket seafood department, I also evaluate my role as a distributor, someone who is complacent in the repackaging, movement, and sale of farmed products. As part of this inquiry, I provide commentary on the process in which corporations domesticate their labor force through the selection of compliant employees that will work quietly for little to no compensation. The three cycles of domestication that I exist within are: consumer/ food, raw unprocessed meat/ distributor, and worker/corporation.
Exploring a wide range of mediums enables me to produce works with methods and materials suitable to each aspect of my subjects. I work within painting, drawing, printmaking, and object making, with the mediums flowing together. I am always reacting and reinterpreting previous pieces. My work has always revolved around myself and my place within society, specific autobiographical situations, or imagined scenarios involving alter-egos from other worlds. I am an ideal subject to represent an average, common blue collar American worker. I have spent my life in low paying jobs of varying skill levels struggling from the exploitation of the worker and struggling to make ends meet along the way.
Artist Biography
Dalton Carlson is an interdisciplinary artist working in Buffalo, New York. Carlson received his Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2024 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Colorado Mesa University in 2020. His work is about how Carlson interacts and analyzes his role within larger societal systems. The Salman body of work is his most recent, focusing on Carlson’s relationship with domestication and the many facets that that entails. The work questions the role of corporations in domesticating the modern worker and the effects on the laborer. Carlson has recently shown in group shows Buffalo with shows at El Museo Gallery and CEPA Gallery and in Colorado at Mesa County Libraries and 437CO. He will be exhibiting his second solo show at Western New York Book Arts Center in March 2024.
Dalton Carlson is an interdisciplinary artist working in Buffalo, New York. Carlson received his Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2024 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Colorado Mesa University in 2020. His work is about how Carlson interacts and analyzes his role within larger societal systems. The Salman body of work is his most recent, focusing on Carlson’s relationship with domestication and the many facets that that entails. The work questions the role of corporations in domesticating the modern worker and the effects on the laborer. Carlson has recently shown in group shows Buffalo with shows at El Museo Gallery and CEPA Gallery and in Colorado at Mesa County Libraries and 437CO. He will be exhibiting his second solo show at Western New York Book Arts Center in March 2024.
Teaching Philosophy
My experience teaching, lines up with my practice as an artist: mixed media that spans painting, printmaking, and drawing. I am following the advice of the late Philip Pearlstein and I actively use the content that I am teaching students within my art practice. Afterall, these are the essentials of the mediums.
Within my teaching, I have three primary goals. My first goal as an educator is to provide students with a place where it is safe to fail. With most of academia being so high-pressure and grade oriented, I work to provide freedom for students to create personal work and to be themselves with opportunities to fix their mistakes. Art is an experience that exists outside of traditional grading structures and timelines and thus should be treated as such. During the semester, I always provide the opportunity to continue working on assignments after the critique to alter their assignment grade. This is because critiques are not meant to be the end of the artwork. Rather, new ideas or suggestions are brought up during the critique that can make the student’s work stronger or more complete. I have seen that given the opportunity, students that genuinely want to succeed will take the time and rework and those that aren’t as invested at least have the option.
The second is to assist students in harnessing the technical skills necessary to realize their artistic projects. The skills they will learn are presented in demonstrations, videos, and written instruction that meet learning objectives. Current students often have dreams outside of their technical ability and as an educator, I see it as my role to assist students in finding success. I have had to update my skill set to help students fulfil their visions for their work and in doing so I am able to provide knowledge and experience they seek while also adding another technique to my skill set. In the Spring of 2023, our ventilation system broke, and my painting class had to go non-toxic which was a new process to me. I have since incorporated this non-toxic approach into my painting classes and my own practice as the longevity and safety of my students and myself are of the upmost importance.
My third teaching goal is to curate information for students to best understand and retain the lessons. I know that not everyone learns the same way as there are four primary ways to learn and a traditional classroom only has one or two. I am personally a visual learner and benefit greatly from hands-on lessons as well. I know this is not everyone’s learning style and thus try to provide information in different formats as possible. In my Lithography and Monotype class, for example, I presented a lesson with four components: 1. A demonstration where I processed a lithography stone (visual); 2. let students make marks on the stone (kinesthetic); 3. provided written step-by-step directions (reading); and 4. verbal directions during the demonstration (auditory).
With contemporary culture, it is important to be sensitive to the needs of students and to the content they are creating. We exist in a time of vulnerability where students and artists are sharing more than they ever have and providing a place where they can create work about sensitive subjects and feel safe in doing so is crucial. While there is room for critique about the effectiveness of the representation of subject matter, I maintain a class that respects and does not question the validity of people’s lived experiences. The students I have had so far have been nothing but caring and respectful towards each other as that expectation is set at the beginning of class and will continue to be a classroom standard for all future classes.
My experience teaching, lines up with my practice as an artist: mixed media that spans painting, printmaking, and drawing. I am following the advice of the late Philip Pearlstein and I actively use the content that I am teaching students within my art practice. Afterall, these are the essentials of the mediums.
Within my teaching, I have three primary goals. My first goal as an educator is to provide students with a place where it is safe to fail. With most of academia being so high-pressure and grade oriented, I work to provide freedom for students to create personal work and to be themselves with opportunities to fix their mistakes. Art is an experience that exists outside of traditional grading structures and timelines and thus should be treated as such. During the semester, I always provide the opportunity to continue working on assignments after the critique to alter their assignment grade. This is because critiques are not meant to be the end of the artwork. Rather, new ideas or suggestions are brought up during the critique that can make the student’s work stronger or more complete. I have seen that given the opportunity, students that genuinely want to succeed will take the time and rework and those that aren’t as invested at least have the option.
The second is to assist students in harnessing the technical skills necessary to realize their artistic projects. The skills they will learn are presented in demonstrations, videos, and written instruction that meet learning objectives. Current students often have dreams outside of their technical ability and as an educator, I see it as my role to assist students in finding success. I have had to update my skill set to help students fulfil their visions for their work and in doing so I am able to provide knowledge and experience they seek while also adding another technique to my skill set. In the Spring of 2023, our ventilation system broke, and my painting class had to go non-toxic which was a new process to me. I have since incorporated this non-toxic approach into my painting classes and my own practice as the longevity and safety of my students and myself are of the upmost importance.
My third teaching goal is to curate information for students to best understand and retain the lessons. I know that not everyone learns the same way as there are four primary ways to learn and a traditional classroom only has one or two. I am personally a visual learner and benefit greatly from hands-on lessons as well. I know this is not everyone’s learning style and thus try to provide information in different formats as possible. In my Lithography and Monotype class, for example, I presented a lesson with four components: 1. A demonstration where I processed a lithography stone (visual); 2. let students make marks on the stone (kinesthetic); 3. provided written step-by-step directions (reading); and 4. verbal directions during the demonstration (auditory).
With contemporary culture, it is important to be sensitive to the needs of students and to the content they are creating. We exist in a time of vulnerability where students and artists are sharing more than they ever have and providing a place where they can create work about sensitive subjects and feel safe in doing so is crucial. While there is room for critique about the effectiveness of the representation of subject matter, I maintain a class that respects and does not question the validity of people’s lived experiences. The students I have had so far have been nothing but caring and respectful towards each other as that expectation is set at the beginning of class and will continue to be a classroom standard for all future classes.
EDI Statement
I grew up within an ethnically ambiguous family. Christmas dinners would be surrounded by a horde of mixed children. As a child, my interracial family taught me to love everyone despite our physical differences and to celebrate the beauty of our individuality. Therefore, I continue to carry that passion for people into my life.
Institutions have historically been places of discrimination of marginalized communities and the active dismantling of these is integral to the success of every individual that attends secondary education. I have and will continue to hold myself and my colleagues accountable for the equal treatment of all students, faculty, and staff along with those outside of the academic sphere. As a white male living today, it is important to understand the larger systems that are in place that support white privilege and actively work on dismantling them to create a more equitable space for all. This includes understanding educational bias and learning styles, including forgotten voices within my research, and being a diligent ally to communities who have been and currently being oppressed.
Within my classroom, it is my primary goal to create a safe space where students can find success. I actively cater the information and the delivery of information to create a more equitable classroom environment. Understanding that not all students learn the same due to their complex individual backgrounds has given me the opportunity to diversify the way that I represent content. This ranges from hands-on demonstrations to purely written directions, both of which are valid ways of learning. Having students that require different modes of instruction has allowed me to diversify my educating skills and provided me with a way to support students on an individual basis. Within my classroom it is important to create an atmosphere where students can have a space to be comfortable and create work for themselves. I strive to create an academic environment that is free of judgement for anything beyond technical application. I have been shown time and time again by my students that there are many experiences I have never gone through and will likely never go through. My lived experiences are far different than theirs and with that, I must be consciously aware that I do not have the right to speak on their lives. Rather my role is to provide them with the materials and skills they require to express their voice while providing critique on how it could be read better or how material could be applied more successfully.
Within my artistic career I have been addressing issues of identity, and now the body of work that I am currently working on, called Salman, addresses labor inequalities, and questions the systems we have in place to “domesticate” the working class. This lower income working class that I am part of, is made up of a massive and incredibly diverse population that, while all suffer under the same corporate rule, face vastly different persecution and working conditions. It is important to understand that many working within these corporations do not have the ability to exit the system they are living in, nor do they have the desire to question corporations and the upper classes for fear of retaliation.
I am positive that I will be an active contributing member towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive academic community for the students, faculty, and staff. It is important to create a safe and forgiving place for students to grow and feel safe when creating their work whether it is deeply personal or technical study as everyone deserves to have their voice heard. It is our duty as educators to provide students with the space that they require depending on their unique needs.
I grew up within an ethnically ambiguous family. Christmas dinners would be surrounded by a horde of mixed children. As a child, my interracial family taught me to love everyone despite our physical differences and to celebrate the beauty of our individuality. Therefore, I continue to carry that passion for people into my life.
Institutions have historically been places of discrimination of marginalized communities and the active dismantling of these is integral to the success of every individual that attends secondary education. I have and will continue to hold myself and my colleagues accountable for the equal treatment of all students, faculty, and staff along with those outside of the academic sphere. As a white male living today, it is important to understand the larger systems that are in place that support white privilege and actively work on dismantling them to create a more equitable space for all. This includes understanding educational bias and learning styles, including forgotten voices within my research, and being a diligent ally to communities who have been and currently being oppressed.
Within my classroom, it is my primary goal to create a safe space where students can find success. I actively cater the information and the delivery of information to create a more equitable classroom environment. Understanding that not all students learn the same due to their complex individual backgrounds has given me the opportunity to diversify the way that I represent content. This ranges from hands-on demonstrations to purely written directions, both of which are valid ways of learning. Having students that require different modes of instruction has allowed me to diversify my educating skills and provided me with a way to support students on an individual basis. Within my classroom it is important to create an atmosphere where students can have a space to be comfortable and create work for themselves. I strive to create an academic environment that is free of judgement for anything beyond technical application. I have been shown time and time again by my students that there are many experiences I have never gone through and will likely never go through. My lived experiences are far different than theirs and with that, I must be consciously aware that I do not have the right to speak on their lives. Rather my role is to provide them with the materials and skills they require to express their voice while providing critique on how it could be read better or how material could be applied more successfully.
Within my artistic career I have been addressing issues of identity, and now the body of work that I am currently working on, called Salman, addresses labor inequalities, and questions the systems we have in place to “domesticate” the working class. This lower income working class that I am part of, is made up of a massive and incredibly diverse population that, while all suffer under the same corporate rule, face vastly different persecution and working conditions. It is important to understand that many working within these corporations do not have the ability to exit the system they are living in, nor do they have the desire to question corporations and the upper classes for fear of retaliation.
I am positive that I will be an active contributing member towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive academic community for the students, faculty, and staff. It is important to create a safe and forgiving place for students to grow and feel safe when creating their work whether it is deeply personal or technical study as everyone deserves to have their voice heard. It is our duty as educators to provide students with the space that they require depending on their unique needs.