Matt Board

by Holly Strother
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:49 PM MST

Artists don’t allow people the opportunity to form their own opinions about a topic as much as they used to, according to Casper College media artist Matt Board.

One of the new instructors in the Casper College Visual Arts Department, Board said he attempts to give the viewer this opportunity with his larger works.

“Usually, I’m dealing with some sort of social issue. I’m not trying to necessarily present a side.

“I’m trying to explore the topic so that when the body of work is viewed, then people can kind of make up their own minds about it. I don’t think that people really get a lot of opportunity to do that nowadays,” he said.

A self-proclaimed painter, Board said he can’t recall a time when he wasn’t drawing or painting something.

His first memories are of kindergarten class where the teacher would present them with a coloring project. He would finish his page quickly so he had time to draw and color his own pictures.

As a sophomore in high school, Board discovered comic books.

“I drew comic book characters pretty much nonstop,” he said.

His college education began with a year of study in illustration at the

Cincinnati Art Academy.

Board said he left the school because it was too expensive.

Board has a bachelor’s of fine art degree in painting from Northern Kentucky University and a master’s of fine art in electronic art and painting from the University of Cincinnati.

“It was there that I actually started using electronic art and new media in my fine art work,” Board said.

Between earning his two degrees, Board said he worked for Thomson Custom Publishing, now Thompson Custom Solutions, which produces college text books.

He designed book covers and did pre-press work, as well as working as a production manager.

Board was a member of a show about using video games in contemporary art practice in Chicago this year.

“What I sent was a hacked Nintendo game ‘Super Mario Brothers,’” Board said.

“What I did was I graphically hacked the video game. I changed the colors and manipulated the symbols in order to break away from its normal visual symbolism,” he explained.

His changes resulted in “Maybelline Mario,” in which Mario was given a physical makeover, and the game’s symbols were changed to where they were no longer recognizable and looked more like runes.

His master’s thesis exhibit was based on the exploration of corporate America and mixing painting, mixed media, sculpture, performance art and digital media to create “Vaultair.”

“What I was doing with all that was it was kind of a social commentary on the corporate infrastructure,’ he said.

“My thesis exhibit was carried on in the manner of sort of an expo or conference that venture capitalists would go to try and gain investments,” he explained.

A work currently in progress, titled “Leet,” uses video games as the subject for the body of work.

Board was born in Marietta, Ohio, the youngest of five children, with one brother and three sisters.

He left his home to attend college in Cincinnati and after graduation met CC instructor Valerie Eggemeyer at a College Arts Association conference, where he was invited to apply for the job at CC.

Board and his fiancée Amy Tran have been a couple for nearly six years, he said.

His work can be seen on his Web site, www.mattboard.com.

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