Pat Hobaugh

A Better Mousetrap

Pat Hobaugh grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana. He never took an art class or touched a paintbrush until his senior year in college when he took an Art History course that changed his life. He fell in love with the Old Masters and started to teach himself to paint. After several years of self-education, he went back to school to earn a Bachelors and Masters in painting from the Uni- versity of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. Now he is represented in galleries across the country and has work in collections around the world. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Pat Hobaugh works in a style that reflects the examination of pop culture fused with the tradition of Dutch still life painting. His fascination with objects (action figures, toys, miscellaneous foods) comes from his anthropological mindset that questions what these objects say about us as a cul- ture. Having dubbed his particular practice of painting our pop culture icons in object form “Stuf- fology,” Hobaugh explores the significance of materiality and “playtime” in the modern world and infuses it with matured satirical wit and a childlike playfulness. Hobaugh also considers the effects from one generation to the next in his paintings, since he uses icons that may be removed from the current pop culture context. In doing this, he alludes to a shift in understanding of young and old. These objects are still toys, a tribute to our youth, though they might not be considered “current.” Though the acknowledgement of lost youth can be overwhelm- ing, Hobaugh conveys gratitude and hopefulness of his youth and of today’s youth by mixing the pop culture figures. Hobaugh says of his works, “My still life work is a quest in exploring and exploding the traditional idea of the representational still life. These paintings began as an examination of the cultural indoc- trination and development of early adolescent children via toy action figures... Overall, they serve as a window into the world where a child’s mythos of heroes and villains are formed. Recently, the still lifes have expanded to include an examination and comparison of themes from past and pres- ent popular culture, such as sugary snacks and breakfast cereals.”