Six Questions for Shan Michael Evans About Saints and Poets Maybe…
By Shan Michael Evans
We asked Shan Michael Evans, a Las Vegas artist and guest curator of the current Nevada Humanities Exhibition Series Saint and Poets Maybe…exhibition, to answer six questions about his inspiration in creating this exhibition.
Artwork by Shan Michael Evans, Saints and Poets, Maybe…exhibition, 2024. Photo by Bobbie Ann Howell/Nevada Humanities.
You describe your work as a celebration of storytelling and togetherness of the human spirit, which are also key elements in the humanities. What are some of the types of images created in your work that you hope viewers will connect with to reflect on their own stories?
Shan: So yes, I’ve described it as such, but have I achieved that though? (laughs)
I know I am certainly aiming for that promise.
I hope to inspire a connection, identification, through simplicity of the work.
Maybe that block talks to this one. There’s their home in the distance.
That one is a midnight show they’re watching.
They’re toys. They connect through rainbows. (laughs)
I have yet to create an actual puzzle out of them. One day though, maybe.
Artwork by Shan Michael Evans, Slot Bandit.
Can you tell us a little about your community and public art projects and how they inspire your work?
Shan: I’m a bit of a recluse, I think. My community is this hurting in my brain.
Some shared existential crises. A broken heart collective.
More than a neighborhood but the whole of all humanity itself.
Weathered apartments, and all the sorrow and the joy that once lived inside.
Sometimes it comes down to nothing more than something “cute.”
The public art projects give me more of a direction.
I’ve been blessed with encouragement, support, and love from this community.
You don’t want to let them down. You sincerely hope they enjoy what you’ve been wasting your time away on. (laughs)
Where can we see some of your public artworks? There is one of your Slot Bandit sculptures on Main Street not too far from the Nevada Humanities Program Gallery.
Shan: I love that one. I felt ashamed it being in 2D but that is what I do, isn’t it?
There’s a lot to see over at the Zappos Campus: the extended mural outside and a colorful installation in the courtyard. In fact, right now, these pieces on the wall in the Nevada Humanities Program Gallery are leftovers from that project.
The mural at the LGA building is a good one.
My favorite must be the one inside of Freed’s Bakery, downtown.
A few have come and gone and is it selfish to say I feel I have far more to contribute?
I singularly wait and ache to do so much more.
What is the thought behind the exhibition title Saints and Poets Maybe…?
Mural by Shan Michael Evans, Cake on the Brain at Freed’s Bakery, Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Shan Michael Evans.
Shan: I’ll just mention this, the title there, that is straight from a line in the play Our Town:
“Does anyone ever realize life while they live it...every, every minute?"
"No. Saints and poets maybe...they do some.
What are some of the ideas, historic elements, or folk tales that inspire your works that reflect on various aspects of Las Vegas?
Shan: It’s just people. People with all their hopes and dreams. Curiosity and worry.
Wonder and wandering. The ideas, the history, the stories…just good people.
Faces. Memories.
I can’t pretend to know what’s in their heads.
There’s much about Vegas I don’t want to think about. I’m not sure I even know what this marvel of a place is. It changes, but such is life and times.
I miss the 90’s café culture that existed. Thank God there are still artists and poets and bands here. Wait, are there any bands around? (laughs)
How did the Small Block Collection develop and how does it influence the development of your other projects?
Shan: Small Block started as an affordable, and collectable, way to showcase my diverse design portfolio, but quickly transformed into a dynamic, mobile system, somewhat encouraging fans to craft their own expansive, personal, one-of-a-kind works of art. I like to keep things consistent. I thought it a good way to constantly release my work. I keep track of what’s out there. Some are only here for a little while. I’m working on Jumbo Block now, and then hopefully next, If That Block Falls On Someone It Will Crush Them…Don’t Worry, I’ve Anchored It Down.
Artwork by Shan Michael Evans for the Saints and Poets, Maybe…exhibition, 2024. Photos by Bobbie Ann Howell/Nevada Humanities.
Saint and Poets Maybe…is open to the public for viewing by appointment Tuesdays through Fridays from 1 to 5 pm and until 9 pm the first Friday of the month for First Friday events at the Nevada Humanities Program Gallery located at 1017 South 1st Street, #190 in Las Vegas. In-person viewing will close on September 25, 2024. Contact Bobbie Ann Howell at bahowell@nevadahumanities.org or 702-800-4670 to make a viewing appointment. Join Nevada Humanities and Shan Michael Evans at the Nevada Humanities Program Gallery for a Reception and Artist’s Talk on September 11 from 5-8 pm PT; artist’s talk is at 6 pm PT. Register here.
Shan Michael Evans is a distinguished illustrator with over 20 years of experience in creating murals and public art. Operating primarily in Las Vegas, with works shown globally, his diverse images are showcased under the Small Block collection banner.
Double Down blogger photo courtesy of Shan Michael Evans.