Our February Art Talk features Bob Hakun, a 1976 Graduate of Kutztown University with a BFA in painting. Bob worked in the toy industry, designing and sculpting Halloween costumes and masks, (at Collegeville Costumes) and designing graphics for silk-screen printing. He has also worked in the printing industry for many years as a computer prepress specialist and a digital graphic designer. Bob retired in 2016 and now devotes much of his time to making his "Industrial Primitive" assemblages.

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Bob Hakun: “INDUSTRIAL PRIMITIVE" artist statement:
I collect old, discarded items: some natural like bones or wood, some man made, like wheels or wire. I look for old things that show the graphic effects of aging: the beauty and harshness of the breaking down over time of all things. I look for things that are not “perfect”. It’s best if they are burnt, broken, rusty, crushed, bent, or stained.
These attributes imply a history or narrative and impart character to the materials that are used. When assembled together, the finished artwork may tell a story or convey a message, a message that can be quite different and greater than the sum of all of the parts. That message may be interpreted many different ways, and the viewer, of course, always creates the final narrative.
My primary goal is for the art to have an emotional presence – refined aesthetics are secondary to the context. Things don’t have to be pretty to be beautiful.

Come here Bob's message on February 15 at Peter Becker's Maplewood Estates Magnolia Room!  

Harry Boardman's Art Talk will be rescheduled later in the spring.