Fort Grunt is a studio in Durham, NC. Fort Grunt also exists in a parallel world of experiments in conflict, biological perversities and hilarity. Working from an ever-expanding vocabulary of invented characters, scenarios and means of death and struggle, we (Lou Joseph and Ben Fisher) work towards constructing this world through painting, printmaking and installations, with an eye toward work that is both repulsive and intriguing.
These Things We Believe:
We believe that art shouldn't be tasteful.
We believe that art should be accessible and affordable to those who want it.
We believe that political art almost always sucks.
We believe that art at it’s best can combine beauty, intellectual rigor, experimentalism, and an honest sense of humor and end up with a sum greater than its parts.
We believe in outlawing the designated hitter.
We believe humor does not have to be separated from serious intent; in the best cases humor (from Tristram Shandy to fart jokes) can serve to underline this intent.
We believe that the Ramones are better than the Beatles, hands down.
We believe in alternative art venues and experimenting with means of consumption and production, in multitasking, and in seriously investing in a studio practice involving intense collaboration, rigorous research and an eye towards both expansive, laborious installations and saleable discrete objects.
We believe snuggling is grand.
We believe in a broad definition of art, from painting to comics to literature, even to poetry and dance. We also believe in the need for some sort of quality control, a more strict understanding of what art is and what it means. For example, musical theatre is not art. Period. (Except for Shockheaded Peter. and the incidental orchestrated music by Bernard Hermann for West Side Story.)
We believe there is no difference between musical theatre and professional wrestling, that it uses the same cognitive functions, only it appeals to different classes of people.
We believe Justin Timberlake is better than the Beatles.
We believe in Patton.
We believe most everything is better than the Beatles.
We believe it's important to consume cultural artifacts (read books, see films, listen to music) and think about how the consumption interacts with our art and our collaboration.
We believe that in an era of exploding creativity HOW you consume becomes almost as important (but not as important) as what you consume.
We believe we have an obligation to champion art we love.
