Army of one

Blake Christopher Britton drills a hole in the wall—his furrowed brows, pursed lips, shaggy beard and sneakers make him look like a poster child for masculinity—which is exactly what his latest exhibition is about.

Ladders, drills and gallons of paint are scattered around the large open room of Chico State’s Humanities Gallery as Britton and a couple of his friends meticulously construct the exhibition’s backdrop. Several sheets of plywood, painted black, cover an unfinished mural that Britton found to be a distraction from his artwork. Even blue door trims are painted white to keep the masculinity theme consistent throughout the room. One of his framed art pieces hangs higher than the other.

“I’m not stressing about little discrepancies,” Britton says. Seconds later, his friend takes down the frame and hammers another hole, then re-hangs it with Britton’s nod of approval.

Britton’s master of fine arts thesis, a two-part exhibition, took a year and a half from conception to materialization and cost him $5,000 of his own money, which he describes as an investment in himself.

It’s a sensible investment for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts’ 2005 Graduate Student of the Year. The 28-year-old Arizona native and art instructor at Chico State says masculinity has been a running theme in his work.

“I think masculine attitudes manifest in very apparent ways,” Britton says. “I’m calling into question my own interpretations of masculinity, whether they’re primal or learned.”

Britton has also learned how to let go and work with new materials through his thesis project.

The first part of the exhibition, You and What Army, is composed of lead castings, which Britton describes as “very straightforward,” with pieces taking jabs at the Bush administration. But the main focus of the exhibition, The Occupied Territory, is based on taxidermy mounts, a resource one of Britton’s students introduced him to.

Other artists have worked with taxidermy in the form of art, but Britton says he knew there was still something to be said. A play on “cat and dog” is displayed through a bobcat sitting in a provocative position while the dog is in a traditional upright stance. Other elements include “humping beavers” and a large “horny” antelope head.

“I like to leave them a little bit open-ended,” Britton says.

Although he makes it clear that this exhibition is about masculinity, Britton says he thinks the work is more interesting when the viewer brings something else to it.

“I don’t intend to preach or anything like that; I’m just trying to work out my own thoughts on the issue.”

Having parents who are artists didn’t make Britton’s decision to pursue a master’s degree in art any easier. His parents discouraged him from becoming an artist, so Britton kept art as a hobby since childhood. After receiving a degree in anthropology from Arizona State, which Britton cites as a major influence in his artwork, he spent a few years developing his portfolio in order to apply to graduate school.

“Once I really decided this is what I wanted, they were really supportive,” he says. “They know it’s a struggle as an artist, and they didn’t want me to have to struggle.”

Previous works include Britton’s Pillow Biter Series, which was socially inspired and cast light on the “absurdity” of homophobia. Through art, he portrayed what he thinks homophobia stems from while representing the insecurities and ignorance that predicate the behavior.

Glove Series allowed Britton to express the peripheral denervation, “the removal of sensory or nerve supply to the tissues of the extremities,” he believes exists socially and globally.

That doesn’t leave many issues left to tackle. But Britton is optimistic about his future plans: “I don’t know what’s next, but grand things are coming.”