Brandon Cannon

My aunt always had a village people’s
tape in her car

Spring/Break Art Fair 2017

My aunt always had a village people’s tape in her car
Curated by Johann Wolfschoon (johann@diablorosso.com)

Elon Musk said in June 2016, that there is only a “one in billions” chance we are not living in an AI simulation. But if we are not, are we doomed to cease to exist? Is what I see in front of me really here? Or is this another simulation?

Brandon Cannon is a 28 years old cool guy that studied illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, GA. After graduation, he moved back to NYC and began working as an artist assistant at what is now known as Pioneer Works. Later he went on to be an assistant working on the Holiday Windows for Bergdorf Goodman through the direction of John Gordon Gauld. He met his wife while living there, a Panamanian girl, and they decided to get married and move to Panama to get a nice change of scenery and, for him, to live outside of the United States for the first time.

With the rapid advancement of AI, how can we actually believe that all we see is all there is? Is the idea of a God changing from a figurative being to a real life Programmer living in a different base reality from the rest of us? Are we living in an alternate base reality, and our lives are really just extended simulations of a life we wanted but never experienced? The idea of living in an AI reality breaks all realms of Religion; the walls of afterlife are broken down to Virtual Reality, and Base Reality. And just who is the great ruler ‘behind the curtain’.

In the last two years he has been putting all his focus into his work and some other obligations on the side (like getting married!). Over time while painting at his studio, he began to take notice of some of the cleaning supplies his “nanny,” Lucre, was using on a day-to-day basis. The colors, patterns, and textures of the supplies began to catch his eye and was greatly intrigued. With the sudden idea of buying art supplies not at the art store but in the cleaning aisles of grocery stores or mini-marts, his work began to take form. He used these everyday objects and began to mix them with some of his biggest inspirations such a Memphis Design, Bauhaus, cartoons, and the constant chase of childhood nostalgia. The brush strokes and collages he uses are all very natural and fun to do, seeing what can get mixed together without creating an entire ugly cluster of random supplies. Most of his process is spontaneous, taking cues from whatever music he might be listening to at the time, the weather, or just any daily new inspirations.

My aunt always had a village people’s tape in her car displays the work of a puppeteer, delving into our days, organizing our experiences, and curating our reality to our commercial desires. Between love and tension, war and peace, and love or loneliness – and just which reality we want to be a part of.

Brandon was always the kid that wanted to touch the paintings and I think that comes across with the bold drips of oil paint, the brush strokes, and the three dimensional objects. Other than that, well, he love pizza and R. Crumb, skateboarding and his dog Wally.