February Freedom Artist: Tanya Slate

I have to admit, I’m a little biased in favor of Tanya’s mixed media work. She stands out among our many talented artists at Liberatchik for having developed an edgy, contemporary style that remains good art. In addition, much of her work conveys a strong political or philosophical message without being trite or jaded. One of the biggest challenges a conservative or libertarian artist can face is successfully injecting ideas into their work. Tanya nails it!

I am typically very eclectic in my taste in art but prefer work grounded in solid mastery of technique. That tends to limit the work I like to traditional methods and subject matter. Occasionally, though, I come across an artist who can push the envelope of standard materials and execution and still appreciate the aesthetics of their art. Tanya is one of those artists.

Many outside the elitist confines of the liberal dominated arts communities shun contemporary art. I have long maintained the need for a broader approach to producing meaningful art and a need to push the boundaries of what kind of work we support. Times are changing, as they say, and we need to learn to keep up.

One of the main reasons for this is the need to appeal to younger generations. Everyone can appreciate beauty and tradition, but for some, that is not enough. Some people want to be engaged on a deeper level than pure aesthetics. Some people want meaning and inspiration in their art. I believe producing art that appeals to a wider audience, and more importantly, a younger audience is vital to getting young people involved in art, culture and politics.

About the Artist:

Tanya was born and raised on a farm in a small town Louisiana; a place where a young girl is often seen but not heard. She always did what was expected of her and felt as if she had lost her voice somewhere along the path of life. Tanya’s paintings constitute the rediscovery of who she is and what she has to say.

As a political junkie and a slightly cynical observer of human nature, Tanya’s art gives voice to her ideas, thoughts, and feelings on such subjects. Primarily self-taught, she intuitively leads herself through concepts of struggle, desire, control, powerlessness, and other unsavory aspects of our human condition employing acrylic, paper, charcoal, and texture, along with bold color and images. These images can manifest themselves in various ways including song lyrics, current events, human actions, and dreams.

Having engaged such specifics as the increasing desire of government control over the individual, and her own internal struggles, in particular, but women in general in her “Two Faces of Eve” series, Tanya hopes to encourage the viewer to seek a path of self-evaluation and personal empowerment.

See more of Tanya’s work on her gallery page.