Instructors
Van Arno was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended a Christian Science school from Kindergarten through High School. He was accepted at Otis Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles, where he studied under Carol Caroompas and Lita Albquerquli Reality Check Studios - Freelance Motion Graphics Animator.
In the spring of 2000, several of his pieces were included in a national survey of Lowbrow painters at the Hollywood Art and Culture Center in Florida along with Mark Ryden, Chaz Bojorquez, Kenny Scharf, Anthony Ausgang and others. Van was pleased to speak at the opening to detail the history of ‘lowbrow’ painting and its place in art history. In the fall of 2000, he painted a 36-foot billboard for the East Side Artcrawl entitled “Abolitionist Goat War” which received local news coverage for its indictment of pimp culture.
More recently, he has been experimenting with painting in oil and egg tempera, and on plastered wood panels. His ongoing fascination with the imagery of propaganda and its use of the heroic figure found new relevance recently, as Americanism was re-examined at home and abroad. Although he has been exploring non-narrative themes recently, his focus remains on the figure and it’s power to engage the viewer.
For more of Van's work, visit:
www.vanarno.com
