Statement - Tony Knox

The pseudo researcher and Mothman...
"My name is Tony Knox and I have been researching the phenomena of Mothman.
This work is a collection of documentation on the sightings of the character since 2004. The first time I encountered the creature was at a wrestling event. Since then I have set up a website, a Myspace and Youtube all dedicated to the search for the Mothman, to promote this phenomenon and enable my investigation with other reports sent to me from others. The creature has been seen at the pyramids of Egypt to the derelict Garden Festival site in Liverpool. It is a rumour that the creature is looking for a place of residence where he will not be disturbed”. Tony Knox, Researcher of Mothman, 2007.

 

Concept and context ...

A live art element has developed in a performance intervention approach. The character Mothman is an idiosyncratic alter ego of both researcher and artist. Attired in a brightly colored costume in the guise of a superhero, with aspirations of heroic actions, with the creative objective to instigate the concept of a myth in postmodern society and culture.

Using the website www.mothman.org.uk as a platform to reach a larger audience, which forms the edifice of my research. Many of the public and browsers accessing this information source on the net not realising it is an art project. I have kept this deadpan to motivate a belief in these abstract phenomena to the realms of concepts of reality and convention.

Another stage of Mothman is a collaboration with Charles Nuttall. This was Mothman in the virtual realms of digital gaming. Mothman and a secondary character of Nuttall (aka Charles Nuttall, collaborative artist) are shown in the context of a gaming installation, an arcade machine. This presented a wrestling game where audiences in the exhibition could interact and participate in the arcade game and become in essence Moth Man or Nuttall or the artist Tony Knox or Charles Nuttall. An interaction of digital technology where the emulation to become the iconic, so much philosophised in cultural art and artifacts from the Classics of Greek texts and representation to the contemporary ideals of comic books heroes re-contextualised in Blockbuster movies and gaming to the mass market of consumerism.


Philosophy ...
“The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing
torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by.
”
Felix Adler
American educator and founder of the Ethical Movement
(1851-1933)
“Fly to the light!”

Mothman
Dysfunctional superhero (2007).

Transvoyeur Legacy
Transvoyeur Legacy is a diverse collection of contemporary art work from established professional artists to be donated to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital by the Transvoyeur. This to impart a ‘Legacy’ to the city and the hospital prior to the European Capital of Culture 2008.
To be part of the hospital permanent collection on display for future generations. Conceived and faciliated by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney (UK Projects Co-ordinator) and managed by Tony Knox (Curator).

Knox has taken the iconic of the wrestling hero and superimposed to the context of the Diddy Men in a portrait of Ken Dodd, a famous comedian from Liverpool now in his 80s, who has established an iconic status himself through his extensive professional comic career. This work is done in a screen print and the original portrait image of Dodd derived from a photograph session at the View Two Gallery (Liverpool, England) in 2006.

 

Previous Art to Current Research ...

Jake the Snake Roberts, a fallen hero from the wrestling arena, 2001.

Tony Knox's early research in arts and culture was explored on two levels. Firstly in his own practice to analyse the theme of the hero in postmodern society, arts, and culture. A series of photographs and digital shorts were produced of the wrestling heroes of old. These were photographic portraits and the wrestler removed from the context of the wrestling ring, but still in the idiosyncratic characters. This artwork was exhibited at several international art festivals from 1999 - 2002.

Earlier workshops programme on creating heros and alter egos.

During the same period, Knox adapted the concept to one of erudition in workshops of outreach programmes and as a Lecturer in universities. This enabled him further insight what the hero meant in contemporary society through these different socio-educational parameters.

From 2004, a new twist developed in the art of Knox . He decided to research the role of the wrestler from the onset of training as a wrestler and to how the alter ego of the characters are formulated and produced.

In early 2004, he commenced training with Garage Pro Wrestling (England), who took the novice from the basics to more adept levels to be able to enter a wrestling tournament. He too learned of the protocols and philosophies that structure the nature and the theatrics that relate to the role of wrestler. The heroes and villains.

Logo for Garage Pro Wrestling (England).

In conjunction with the ideologies and the training, Knox researched the concept of the hero and combined with an earlier interest in moths, he amalgamated the concept of the moth, both from historical meanings and contemporary notions of this creature. The creation of his character was further founded on creative insight from other artists and curators he consulted for feedback. 'Moth Man' evolved and the suit was designed from the fundamentals of research.

 

Character of Moth Man evolved and earlier wrestling bouts of Moth Man with Garage Pro Wrestling.

The first wrestling tournaments 'Moth Man' appeared where in the context of the events by Garage Pro Wrestling in various social clubs in the Northwest of England. These were filmed and photographed and the contextualisation of 'Moth Man' was presented in the format of digital short movies and series of photographic studies.

Knox in guise of Moth Man in a live art gallery context at Transvoyeur exhibition 2002 of Liverpool Biennial.

In the Liverpool Biennial 2004, 'Moth Man' in collaboration with Garage Pro Wrestling took the wrestling experience into the context of the gallery space, as well as Knox projecting previous bouts of 'Moth Man'.

Resent Research ...

The persona of 'Moth Man' has since been explored in many other contexts since and removed from the wrestling forum. A live art element has developed in a performance intervention approach. In early 2006, 'Moth Man' has been to the pyramids in Egypt to reconsider the idea of the character in different socio-cultural and historical constructs.

 

Moth Man in Egypt.

In 2006, he researched and curated an art exhibition, which looked at art in post modern art, society and culture on the subject of hero, the alter ego and live art. This was exhibited as a collection of art from artists of different practices at the Egg Space Gallery, Liverpool, England.

Fly to the Light Exhibition by Tony Knox at Egg Space Gallery, Liverpool, England.

A combined live art and wrestling event was co-managed and organised with Tony Knox and St Borough Council Arts Development Unit as part of the St Helens Summer Festival. The community and public of St Helens were introduced to a live event of this popular sport within a cultural and creative context.

Poster for St Helens Summer Festival event of Moth Man and GPW Wreslitng.

Additionally in 2006, Knox was contracted by St Helens Borough Council’s Arts Development Unit, funded by the Gormley Trust and in association with the Liverpool Biennial Education Programme, to present his creative research and concepts of the hero to a group of young people at De La Salle School in St Helens, England. The end product of this has been presented on the BBC Big Screen in Liverpool, England.

BBC Big Screen with Field Project.

Moth Man was exhibited in a series of large scale reproductions stills from the the Pyramid live art intervention in Egypt in the Transvoyeur Liverpool and New York Exhibition 2006, part of the Independents Liverpool Biennial 2006, an international platform of contemporary art. A secondary stage in the research of Moth Man and the popular culture of wrestling was developed in a collaboration with Charles Nuttall. This was Moth Man in the virtual realms of digital gaming. Moth Man and a secondary character of Nuttcraker (aka Charles Nuttall, collaborative artist) were shown in the context of a gaming installation, an arcade machine.

This presented a wrestling game where audiences in the exhibition could interact and participate in the arcade game and become in essence Moth Man or Nuttcracker.