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

Writer / Artist / Creative

Summer studio within the Galena Center for the Arts, 971 Gear Street, Galena, Illinois
Winter studio adjacent to the Ouachita National Forest in western Arkansas

P.O. Box 6603, Galena, IL 61036-6603
P.O. Box 127, Amity, Arkansas 71921-0127
email: mail@davidorr.name

Summary

Interdisciplinary Scholar and Artist-Practitioner working at the nexus of critical theory, visual communication, and literary experimentation. Leveraging expertise in architectural structure and digital composition, I apply formal and material analysis to graphic textuality and the book object. Dedicated to generating original creative research that investigates the convergence of word and image to advance interdisciplinary dialogue.

Education

Academic Degrees

Professional Certificate

Additional Training

Publications

Publisher Experience

Public Readings

Exhibitions

2025

"Irene Rosenzweig Juried Biennial," Art and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas; September 18, 2025 - January 24, 2026; Eepi Chaad, juror.

"Open Call: All Media," Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, California; August 2 - September 13; Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Peter Carlson, and Michael Todd, jurors.

"Free Style 3.0," HMVC Gallery and Times Square Jumbotron, New York, New York; August 1 - 31.

Regional Art Gallery, Galena Center for the Arts, Galena, Illinois; Two-month exhibitions, Aug. - Sept., Oct. - Nov., Dec. 2025 - Jan. 2026.

"MFA Thesis Exhibition," SAIC Galleries, School of the Art Institute of Chicago; July 7 - 27.

2023

"The Next Big Thing 23," Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, California; August 5 - September 30; Shana Nys Dambrot, juror.

"Comic Crossing: The Art of the Graphic Narrative," UNCLE Credit Union Gallery at the Bankhead Theater and Livermore Valley Arts Comic Con, Livermore, California; July 13 - October 8.

"Home," HMVC Gallery, New York, New York; June 1 - 30, 2023; Heini Miku and Vincent Chang, jurors.

2022

"The Next Big Thing 22," Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, California; August 6 - September 24; David Pagel, juror.

Awake (Gallery Inaugural Exhibition), HMVC Gallery, New York, New York; September 1 - 30, 2022; Heini Miku and Vincent Chang, jurors.

"Illustrated Arkansas: The Art of Comics," Oct. 14, 2022 - Jan. 28, 2023, CALS Roberts Library, Library Square, 401 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock, Ark.; Randy Duncan, juror.

2020

"Photo Shoot: 2020," Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon; September 1-20; Todd Johnson, juror.

"The Still Life," Praxis Photo Arts Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ann Jastrab, juror; August-September.

"Artosphere," Walton Art Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Rebecca Drolen, juror; May-June; photography of personally constructed land art.

"Open Theme," Praxis Photo Arts Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ann Jastrab, juror; April-May; photography of personally constructed land art.

2018

"Found Objects," juried photography group exhibit, Praxis Photographic Arts Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Laura Migliorino, juror; August-September.

2011

53rd Annual Delta Exhibition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas; juror: Ellen Rudolph (Director, Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH).

2010

52nd Annual Delta Exhibition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas; juror: Martha Tedeschi (Curator of Prints, Art Institute of Chicago).

2009

"Falling Water," Stone House Gallery and Pottery, Galena, Illinois (solo show).

"Riparia: Flow Art," Brother-Sister show; Henderson State University, Arkadelphlia, Arkansas.

Installation partial view

Press Release Henderson State University

2008

"Falling Water," Galena City Hall, Galena, Illinois (solo show).

"Mountains & Mist," Clair E. Smith Art Gallery, Barrington High School Campus, Barrington, Illinois (solo show).

2007

"30th Harper College National Juried Art Exhibition: Small Works," Harper College, Palatine, Illinois

Biennial Juried Art Show, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa; juror: Alan Aiches.

Regional Juried Art Show, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, Indiana; juror: T. L. Solien; juror's award of special merit.

Upstream People Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska; juror: Larry Bradshaw.

"Natural Wonders," Stone House Pottery and Gallery, Galena, Illinois.

"3rd Annual National Self-Portrait Exhibition," 33 Collective Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; juror: Matthew Cherry.

2006

Dangenart Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee.

2005

Water Street Gallery, Kent, Ohio.

2004

47th Annual Delta Exhibition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas; juror: Katherine Degn (Kraushaar Galleries, New York, NY).

47th Annual Art Show, Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

"Natural Wonders 2004," Old Market House, Galena, Illinois.

2003

"Expressions of a Lifetime," Lexington Art League, Lexington, Kentucky.

"Natural Wonders 2003," Old Market House, Galena, Illinois.

2002

"Natural Wonders," Ingersoll Nature Center, Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge, Thomson, Illinois.

Licensing of Art Images

Honors/Awards

Art Prizes

Grants

Strategic Design Consultling

Corporate Employment

Teaching

Professional License and Membership

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)