James Van Arsdale

My work is created with a sense of fun and play, inspired by cold war era board games and toys, but at the same time incorporates political and social messages reflective of the events of the world around us. I am interested in objects that are both delicious and dangerous, and create brightly colored, pop-art inspired works that combine many different media into an environment. Utilizing colored lights, wall paintings, cast multiples, wood, fabric, video or sound these installations provide a framework within which to think about our history, our present and our future. Notions of safety and security, the Bomb, military combat, economic hardships, homelessness, political corruption, pop culture, drug culture, psychology and corporate America all feature within the work. Through the works I can comment on social and political ideas and beliefs, and express their inconsistencies or idiosyncrasies. These works provide a means to discuss and relate, and to engage in the cultural dialogue as well as the socio-political dialogue.

James Van Arsdale is a mixed-media sculptor / installation artist and musician. He holds an MFA  from Southern Methodist University, and a BFA  from The University of Texas at Austin. His drawings, sculpture works and mixed-media installations have been shown in many solo and group exhibitions including Eating Apples in Paradise at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Color System, Color Strategy at the University of Texas at Dallas, and recent solo exhibtion Everything You Hear Is True. He lives and works in Santa Barbara, California.