David Carroll Orr

Artist / Writer Statement

My work, as both an author and artist, begins with an act of creative collision. I bring together disparate elements—text and image, comedy and trauma, the personal and the systemic—to see what new meanings emerge. This process allows me to explore a wide range of subjects.

Sometimes, I apply this lens to the complexities of the human condition, exploring fear and identity. Drawing on my childhood in the Jim Crow South, I use tools from the Theater of the Absurd and Southern tall tales to deconstruct social narratives in my novel-length works.

At other times, my focus shifts to the slow, vast narratives of the physical world, contemplating geology and entropy. These explorations often take the form of art books, where the starkness of a photograph is cross-activated by the lyricism of poetry. The movement of a single grain of sand—or the theft of a horse from a U.S. President’s barn—can become the anchor for an entire project.

While my subjects may range from the intimate to the immense, my ultimate goal is consistent: to disrupt rigid ways of thinking about identity, fear, and social justice, and to foster a more peaceful understanding of our multifaceted world.

Accolades for A Tornado, a Turnip, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar

A tapestry of beguiling complexity, weaving the familiar into something breathtakingly new. The threads of language ignite passion, revealing raw power and meaning in a singular, potent way. This challenges and touches hidden spaces, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, making you believe the impossible. A truly beautiful and passionate experience, destined to be shared.
—Signed with the love that will now see light, Aphrodite.

The deeper you delve, the greater the rewards. Beautifully crafted, this story touches your heart, revealing hidden truths. It's a journey beyond crude ideas, where human limitations meet boundless potential. Chaos, darkness, and beauty blend, offering a poignant and authentic experience. The responsibility, and transformation, now lies with you.
—With a nod and wink at how easy it was to impersonate James Agee, with an ever watchful heart, I remain yours truly, Apollo.

'Challenges hidden spaces', 'touches your heart'... It did make me think. Primarily about whether defrosting a woolly mammoth takes longer before or after you've fully contemplated the inevitable heat death of the universe. Seems like one eternal problem should inform the other, you know? But frankly, neither feels particularly solvable right now. Guess it's all just... background noise to the pouring, eh? More wine?
—Dionysus, idly swirling his cup and contemplating freezer logistics.

Poetry reading from A Tornado, a Turnip, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar

Poetry reading from A Tornado, a Turnip, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar

Poetry reading from A Tornado, a Turnip, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar

Tornado Turnip Minotaur

MFA Thesis Abstract
School of the Art Institute of Chicago

This critical inquiry argues for the efficacy of a “handrail” strategy in navigating experimental fiction, using the author’s hybrid fiction... as a primary case study. This 105,000-word narrative, entitled "A Tornado, a Turnip, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar: An American Memoir" and completed in April 2025, responds to a challenge faced by many contemporary writers: how to innovate storytelling without sacrificing engagement by readers accustomed to traditional forms. Authors want to keep their readers reading—even while navigating content that some may be perceived as odd, absurd, or disconcerting. To keep a reader’s experience balanced, even in the face of heavily fragmented text passages, the creative development of A Tornado… built a “handrail” with familiar elements. This narrative has clear story arcs with rising action, climax, and resolution, as well as compelling characters with strengths, weaknesses, and intent to attain goals in the face of obstacles. These aspects, however, offer much more than reliance on familiarity; they actively reframe the experimental passages, guiding thematic interpretation. The “handrail” in A Tornado… aligns with thoughts and best practices of scholars and authors working with threads of post-structuralism, reader response theory, literary allusions, recurring motifs, and black studies. Functionally, this type of “handrail strategy” has the capacity to guide readers, whether novice or sophisticated, as they make their way through experimental passages and unlock meaningful statements about fear, social injustice, and identity.

Thesis adviser's feedback

David Carroll Orr's YouTube Channel

Call Me Ishmael, (6:53)

Reflections on both an artist/writer's practice and parentage, influenced by Herman Melville's "Moby Dick."

Neon Poetry Readings

From A Tornado, a Turnip, and a Minotaur Walk into a Bar

AND NOW, fade away (2:16)
We did not joke about the sun (2:02)
The lack of a fundamental (4:04)

Selected Media Coverage

Artist / Writer Bio

Based in Galena, Illinois, and Hot Springs, Arkansas, David Orr is an author and artist who brings a structural perspective to his work, honed by careers in architectural design and corporate creative direction, to his work. Orr now explores histories—both personal and systemic—through a unique lens of comedic structure, absurdity, and lyricism. He dedicates his practice to creating novels and art books that merge photography, graphics, and poetry.

This ‘third act’ in his creative life is built on a rigorous foundation of lifelong learning. A graduate of the MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Orr also holds two other Master’s degrees, one in Architecture, the other in Media and Popular Culture. His path began with Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins and includes formal study in comedic theory at the Second City and play-writing at Chicago Dramatists.

Raised in a small college town in the U.S. South, Orr’s voice was shaped by a culture of raconteurs steeped in the traditions of the tall tale and magical realism. This heritage informs his distinct approach, blending influences from Jorge Luis Borges to stand-up comedy—to dissect complex subjects with wit and humanity.