Artist Statement
The lowercase “I” without end
punctuation. The artist comes from
a company town. The artist swam
in its polluted river. This will be good.
The blank page is a canvas. Be more
specific. The corporate histories
that could be written here, unwind.
The states of state are mined and under
-mined. Don’t escape from here.
The artist’s identity politics start
to thin out. There is no discussing
the artist’s philosophies—2D collage,
mixed media aesthetics. Each page
is a thirst trap hinged on diaspora.
An exoticized mural covering the wall
of a hyphen-American restaurant.
Each reference is a wandering.
Copyright © 2024 by Tarik Dobbs. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 30, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
“This is a poem about an uncertain self during a coming of age, about understanding one’s influences, and also about attending art school. And if you know, you know.”
—Tarik Dobbs