By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Joshua Brooks Heimsoth learned to weld on the farm he grew up on near Cole Camp, Mo.
He uses those skills today in his art that the from sleek modern sculptures to industrial steam-punk pieces.
He uses found objects, such as an old vanity. He also fabricates pieces from the ground up using ceramic and steel. Many of his pieces include electric light or some kind of powered movement.
Heimsoth's Master's of Fine Arts thesis exhibition "Sacred Industry" is on display now through Sept. 10 at the Moss Thorns-Gallery of Art on the Fort Hays State University campus.
He said he doesn't create anything he wouldn't feel comfortable having in his own living room.
He questions such establishments as religion and government in his work.
He said he hopes people will come to his show and take a little time to disconnect from busy digital lives.
Museum patrons spend an average of 15 to 20 seconds per painting, he said.
"That's on me as an artist to create pieces that are going to have to draw you in and captivate you and make you go in for a closer look, so that you forget about your cellphone for five minutes or 15 minutes," he said. "I want things that are exciting and that are visually interesting and engaging.
"At the end of the night, whether you deem it a positive engagement or a negative engagement, as long as I'm getting those gears in your brain turning and your thinking about it ...
"Instead of hooking your Bluetooth up to the radio and playing the Beatles on Spotify on your way home, if you're thinking about me, that's a win for what I want to do."
Heimsoth will graduate in December and hopes to keep sculpting, showing and selling his work.
