Dalek (artist)

Dalek
Birth name	James Marshall
Born	May 22, 1968(1968-05-22) New London, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Field	Painting, Graphic Design, Graffiti
Training	School of the Art Institute of Chicago

James Marshall (born May 22, 1968),^[1] better known as Dalek, is an American artist and designer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dalek has had two books published of his artwork, as well as being included in many other books and magazines. His artwork has appeared on a wide variety of mediums, including sneakers, sculptures and a Scion car.^[2]

Life and Art

Early Life and Education

Dalek was born James Marshall in New London, Connecticut. Because he grew up in a military family, he moved quite frequently and turned to graffiti, skateboarding and punk rock to help form his identity.^[2] He graduated in 1992 from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science in anthropology and sociology. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. From 2001 to 2002, Dalek served as assistant to the influential Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The six-month assistantship proved to be a major turning point in Dalek's career: "I didn't have a real set direction for how I wanted to paint. I had seen a show of [Murakami's] that August at the Boston Museum, and when I saw those painting close up, I realized that was the end product I wanted to see my ideas come out in. I realized I needed that sort of apprenticeship."^[2]

James has two sons, James and Shannon with Sarah Sheridan.

Space Monkey

Dalek's most recognizable work is his Space Monkey character. According to Dalek, the Space Monkey, which looks like some strange twisted mouse, is his vision of a human being. In his art, he has used the Space Monkey as a recognizable tool for expressing his ideas. The Space Monkey character was a major focus of Dalek's artwork since he first created the creature in 1995. With his new pseudonym, he merged street art, cartoons, Japanese pop art and the energy of the punk scene which he associated himself with. In 2007, Marshall reached a major turning point in his career. In a show at Jonathan Levine Gallery he used his real name and created a series of paintings that were complex and layered. The Space Monkey was now either missing entirely or only present in a fragmented form.

Primary sources

• Dalek. Sonic Order Of Happiness. Brooklyn: powerHouse, 2005. ISBN 1-57687-247-5
• Marshall, James and Roger Gastman. Dalek Nickel-Plated Angels. Berkeley: Gingko Press, 2003. ISBN 978-1584231431

Notes

1. ^ "Dalek - Violent Pacification: An Exclusive Exhibition". 2006. http://www.richardgoodallgallery.com/dalek.html. Retrieved 2009-06-29. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Dalek Biography". http://dalekart.com/#/biography/. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 

Persondata
Name	Dalek
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1968-05-22
Place of birth	New London, Connecticut
Date of death
Place of death