Art Under Empire: Gadzooks Bazooka
The Art Under Empire series explores the importance of staying engaged with our artistic/creative endeavors in these precarious times, and why art matters now more than ever! Each featured radical creative answers the same ten questions about the intersection of art, politics and the personal, sharing insights on how and why they stick with it...and why you should, too.
1. Name, pronouns, location, creative medium
Grant Hoskins aka Gadzooks Bazooka. My pronouns are he/him. I’m from Southern California. My creative medium is mostly pen and ink on paper, though I also work in acrylic paints, color pencils, pencil, markers, crayon, etc. Very occasionally if the project demands it, I will work in digital though it’s definitely not something I prefer and I’m not a computer person.
2. Why is art important during times of political upheaval/community in crisis?
For so many reasons, not the least of which is that it lets people know that they are not alone. If we don’t make art, then all people are going to see is art that reinforces the status quo and that can really leave people feeling alone and defeated. To see art out there that represents your values or who you are is like a beacon, it’s massively helpful and important. Growing up I didn’t know there was anyone who thought the way I did and when I discovered that there was it was incredibly heartening, it opened a whole world.
