Tanner Kazio – Artist Statement

I spent this past year unlearning a lot of standards that we have set as a society to help me to rebuild how I want to see the world. Of course there are some negative and ugly things in the world, but something I’ve realized is that a lot of kids have this beautiful blindness to that ugliness. They haven’t learned that you’re supposed to act a certain way, think a certain way, so they can have a positive experience wherever they go because society hasn’t told them what is good and bad yet. They are free to try certain foods, watch a movie, or go someplace without the burden of prejudice or bias. 

To an artist, a clean slate or blank canvas if you will, is a daunting starting point. However, in life it can be a beautiful place to build. The danger comes when we think our canvas has run out of room. The funny thing is, our canvas is never full and it can always be painted over to bring about a better and bigger picture. For as long as we are alive we should be learning, experiencing, and listening. If you are too stubborn and closed minded to do any of that then what is the point of your eyes, ears, tongue, hands, and nose. Use your senses to enlighten yourself so you can live a full life.

I’ve been trying to see how kids react to things by joking with my little cousins and asking others what their fears were growing up. I’ve used these answers to help with studies I’ve done using charcoal, chalk pastels, and colored pencil as you can see in the background here. For the comic I did it digitally to try and focus on the massage and composition of frames. I am trying to look at the world with a fresh start, so I have been digging deep into my inner child and trying to take things on with a blind optimism. I also tried tackling some harder hitting topics like love, loss, and even roles that larger structures like religion can play in our lives in my original comic “My Best Friend Mary”.