Allison Bruns
Portland, Oregon

Dictators

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When thinking of events or people that affected the world the most, genocide was the word that kept entering my mind. Nothing causes greater change in the world than the slaughter of a population. Genocide is not only a crime against the rules of war, but also a crime against humanity itself affecting not just the individual or nation in question, but humanity as a whole. And it leaves an imprint so deep on the world; we can never forget it, yet we continue to repeat. I chose four recognizable dictators based on the amount of blood their regime shed, consequently changing the world. Dictators include: Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Adolph Hitler, and Mao Zedong.

Oil Paint, 12 inches diameter, 2011.

Artist Biography

Allison Bruns earned her Bachelor of Arts in Illustration from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2007. She received the 2007 Creativity Annual Student Award for News and Editorial Illustration for her thesis illustrations on the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. While Bruns’s illustration work is figurative and at times satirical, her fine art is interpretive, focusing more on expression and contemplation. Using multiple layers of vivid  color, along with her self-styled “splatters,” her abstract work is designed to evoke energy and volatility. Her portraits–painted in the same vivid, expressive tones–depict a diverse cast of characters, each with his or her own story to share,  and Bruns tries to capture these stories in her art.

Allison Bruns works in pen and ink and oil on canvas. She has done illustration and design work for Oregon businesses and private clients and her fine art has been shown in local galleries, exhibitions, and business offices. She lives in Portland, Oregon.