Holland Discusses His Fear of Clowns and Why He Paints Them

By Dan Haley
Spectator Staff Writer
February 22, 2005

Many artists use the easel and brush in lieu of therapy, choosing to exorcise their demons on the canvas. Dalí confronted his sexual pathologies in his series of lithographs based on the novel, "Venus in Furs." Picasso’s famous self-portrait during his blue period was an obvious attempt to come to grips with his spiraling depression.

Artist Jeffrey Scott Holland, whose work is currently being exhibited at the Jigsaw Gallery, is also using art as a vehicle for emotional catharsis. In his exhibit, entitled "Clowns in Love," Holland confronts a psychological issue more unsettling than any mere case of depression or sexual deviancy. Arming himself with acrylic and cardboard, Holland tackles his intractable fear of clowns. “I haven’t been diagnosed with a fear of clowns,” said Holland. “But I’ve always just gotten a deep fear, deep within my DNA.”

Holland also said he believes that his fear is symptomatic of a larger cultural phenomenon.

“I think popular culture has a fear of clowns," Holland said. "The idea of the jolly lovable clown is a myth. With evil clowns like John Wayne Gacy and Stephen King’s Pennywise now part of the culture, it’s no surprise that people are disturbed by clowns."

Holland thinks that this fear of clowns is not a recent development. Rather, it appears to have been brewing in the cultural unconscious for years untold.

"I was born back in the 60s," Holland said. “And yeah, even back in the day I think people were afraid of clowns."

Holland grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and says he started drawing and writing at "a ridiculously precocious age; age 1, to be exact." He became a professional artist after graduating from high school. Early into his professional career, his life took a decidedly Kerouac spin.

"I spent a good chunk of the 80s wandering around as a bum and a hobo," said Holland. "It was just one of those things, you know? You begin a road trip and it extends for years. But, after awhile, I just got tired of roaming."

In the 90s Holland resumed his professional career and started painting again, fulfilling the public demand for disturbing clown imagery. "Clowns in Love" represents his latest and perhaps most ambitious attempt to probe his fear of clowns.

In this exhibit, though all of Holland’s paintings revolve around clowns, not one features a clown whooping it up at a rodeo or under a circus tarp. Instead, Holland puts his clowns in unconventional situations and locales. Holland takes the clown out of the circus and puts him in your garbage can in "Stalker Clown". This painting features a clown hiding in a trash can, peering into a lit window and watching a female clown undress. You might argue that Holland is trying to humanize the clown in this picture, attributing to him the basic drives and weaknesses that we hold in common. You can also argue that this painting is an attempt to view the world through the looking glass, with the clown serving as a voyeur instead of a performer. However, I’d just argue that this painting is damn creepy.

Holland has a lot of paintings that defy interpretation, that cannot really be analyzed or labeled, that are simply scary. For instance, "Milkshake Clowns" features two clowns romantically sharing a milkshake. Seems innocuous? The very concept of two clowns being romantic is pretty unsettling. But there’s also a certain extra curl in the male clown’s smile that can’t help but rub you the wrong way. In some ways, "Milkshake Clowns" is significantly more disturbing than "Stalker Clown." "Stalker Clown" actually features deviant behavior. You look at that painting, recoil somewhat and then tell yourself that you responded accordingly. But "Milkshake Clowns" appears totally harmless, making its inherent weirdness all the more inexplicable and troubling.

Though Holland’s paintings are a little jarring, the artist maintains that he’s "not painting clowns as monsters. [He’s] painting them in a cartoony way."

Holland’s style is a strange blend of comic art and German expressionism. But don’t make the mistake of suggesting that Holland’s style is in the tradition of Lichtenstein. According to Holland, Lichtenstein used the comic style as a medium for satire, instead of operating within the style itself. Lichtenstein’s pop art has, in the words of Holland, a "cold sneer." Unlike Lichtenstein, Holland accords comic art the respect it truly deserves, believing that "the gap between comic art and 'true art' is narrowing."

It would be unfair to present Holland only as a comic artist. The expressionist influence runs deep in his work. Holland uses strong outlines and vivid colors. His brushstrokes are thick and meaty. “Clowns in Love” consists entirely of acrylic on wood and cardboard, giving the paintings a certain edgy, retro quality.

Though originally intended as a "twisted nod toward Valentine’s Day," Holland’s exhibit runs until Feb. 24.