Artist statement for Andy Valk’s 2022 senior thesis at Suny New Paltz:

These paintings are unavoidable. Call it what it is: compulsion. I don’t know who I am or how I feel and I can’t focus on anything else. The result is countless self portraits that have taken on a life of their own. These paintings are a glimpse into a blank universe where the only thing that exists is a low budget, old Hollywood-style film studio. The characters depicted are all different versions of myself who only live to frantically make nonsense films, TV shows, and music videos. The paintings are stills from the production, the doll and church are props.

About the work:

The church is a whopping 7 feet tall! Its named after the song “Brutality” by Black Box Recorder. I know this work comes off as very god-complex-y, but I see it more as I am finally trying to worship the life I've been given. I think after many years of trying to see myself in god's image, I had to see myself in order to survive. I never felt like I could make work about religion so directly because i no longer follow a church or have a title for my beliefs. But my lack of a relationship with a god I thought I knew is my religious experience and a big part of my life. My philosophy these days is to be as human as possible. Religion began as a way to find comfort when we couldn't understand the world around us. It used to explain how the sun came up and now it's typically saved for our never ending existential fears. Where do we go when we die? Am I a good person? What's the meaning of life? People have always had a need to be told what to believe. Christians in particular pride themselves in being Jesus' sheep. There's a need for redemption and salvation. I've been told what to believe my whole life and I never found comfort in it. I have found strength in taking one day at a time and being every morally-gray version of myself. I practice radical self acceptance on my never ending quest towards being a good person.