ARTIST BIO

Taylor (Choctaw/Irish) is an artist & poet who has lived in NY for the last 15 years. His primary medium is colored pencils and paper, with an emphasis on figurative representations and portraiture, often couples with his poetry. His poems are of the dispossessed, street people, hustlers... the lonely. Showing an acute understanding of the lives and psyches of his subjects, Taylor uses poetry and drawings to create a devastating work that not only chills the reader, but leaves one stunned at the eloquence of his writing. Though tragic in its themes, Taylor's illustrations and poetry may be liberating and cathartic for both the writer and the readers. Taylor's honest portrayal of a life colored by shame is at once a sadly beautiful series of works, and more so, a profoundly important body of work.

PUBLICATIONS

The Door - Comic Strip - 1993
Shame - Poems & Illustrations -1994
Twist V. 1 - Illustration - 1997
Twist V. 4 - Illustration - 1997
Talking Stick V. 1.4 - Poems - 1998
Emotional Rotations - Poems & Illustrations - 2003
The Landmark Issue 4 V. IV- Say Goodbye - April 2003
The Landmark Issue 7 V. IV- Exhibit Article - July 2003
AICH Newsletter V. XX Issue 1 - Brand New Power - Spring 2004
The Forum - Poem - 2004
www.tapwe.com - Poem - 2004

ARTIST STATEMENT

When I was a kid I would draw often because paper & pencils were free and I never had the chance to do other things that cost money. My five older siblings ruined my chance at an early age by taking music lessons and other activities which my parents had pre-paid for them, eventually drop out or grow tired of it. When it was my time to choose an interest I was told to get a job instead. Being only eleven, I got a paper route, mowed lawns and collected cans to buy art supplies for my work. As a young adult, I enjoyed creating and using my imagination. I felt very alive and sometimes I felt like my hand was flowing by itself while I watched it create. Since my parents were not married, I lived both between my mom & dad and their families. The physical and emotional abuse both at home at school forced me to isolate myself from everyone. I would put on my headphones & listen to music and just draw for hours.

At eighteen years old I hitch hiked to New York City to get away from a small town life. Once hitting the streets of Times Square, I was the happiest person alive. Even though I only had thirteen dollars in my pocket it didn’t matter because I was finally able to express myself without anyone hurting me or telling me to shut me up. In 1992, I started writing my book "Shame", a story about a boy growing up gay in a small town placing a little of me and what I learned from a gay, lesbian and transgender youth group that I attended for a month at The Door Alternative Learning Center. Although unpublished, I am still very proud of it today. My second book "Emotional Rotation" I completed in 2003, a collection of poetry & illustrations about my "twenty's" in New York City. I would like to call it my teen years though because I finally felt popular and had group of friends who believed in me with no one saying I was ugly. Now, in my thirties, I feel more mature in some ways but I’m still a kid at heart when I draw or write. And although I am not churchgoer I do believe in GOD and he or she has given me a gift to use to create works of art. GOD has protected me thru my ups & downs in this life.

"I I’ve lived and learned from the choices & the mistakes I’ve made and now know I have a tale to tell" Taylor 2005

PRETEND from Emotional Rotation © 2003

Dedicated to Greg Gostanian (Queerdonna)


I have been frowning
Ever since you passed away
& now I have no one to pretend
Like we were stars
Just the memories you left behind
That is slowly fading from my mind
Making me realize
how important time can be
Now that you're not here with me
So somewhere
There must be a place for us
To put on a show again
but when the curtains go up
I must take the stage alone
And just pretend
you are holding my hand
So I won't get butterflies
But when the spotlight comes down
on me
I just know that it's you
It's you shining on me
From the heavens above
To let me know
That it's okay
To take a bow without you...

ONE OF THE PEOPLE from the forthcoming As Far As I Can Get © 2003

Do you remember when you covered your own ass?
And let my mentor get away with striking me?
Well I haven’t forgot and neither will you!
Soon you will remember me as that poor kid
That came back to school for revenge!!!

You are one of the people
I wish that a truck would hit
And be left for dead in a ditch and no one won't stop
Because they ignore your cries for help!

Do you enjoy thinking that you are invincible?
Just because the jury didn't convict you
When they had the knife you used to stab me with in their hands.
Well one day they will get the same justice
That they handed down to me!
But as for you I’ll be praying to GOD
That you will have the same done to you as you have done to me!!!

You are one of the people
That I pray that gets a scar for a lifetime
To remind you of your cowardness.
You son of bitch!

Do you think that you are the queen of the house?
When you play monopoly with peoples lives?
Well one day you will get screwed over when you fuck with
The wrong person & you will try to hide
The evidence of your abuse of power
Then the peasants you used in your game will all come forward
With there stories and knock you off your throne!!!

You are one of the people
That I hope learns the meaning of
What comes around goes around!
And I hope I'm there to see you fall flat on your ass bitch!!!

SILENCE from Emotional Rotation © 2003


Silence feels the air when I'm alone
I can only think of so much
Until my thoughts are gone
As the hours begin
I sit and wait for my feelings
To rise from the grave
Of my broken heart
That fell apart when time flew by
As the day begins
I get down on my knees and pray to GOD
To save me from the past
But souls go by me
Each one tearing a piece of me
Knowing I could slowly bleed to death
And yes
I was no match for the truth
That waits for me ahead
So now the sun falls to bed
Leaving me here alone in the dark
To take the last beating
Of my heart

Website:

www.myspace.com/TAYLOR1NY