Trenton Doyle Hancock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Trenton Doyle Hancock
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| Born | 1974 (age 50–51) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Texas A&M University-Commerce, Temple University |
| Spouse(s) | JooYoung Choi |
Trenton Doyle Hancock (born 1974) is an American artist. He creates amazing works using prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. His art often tells the story of the Mounds, who are special, mystical creatures. Each new artwork helps build the exciting world of the Mounds.
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Early Life and Education
Trenton Doyle Hancock was born in 1974 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He grew up in Paris, Texas. As a child, he loved cartoons and even worked as a cartoonist for his college newspaper. This early love for cartoons still influences his art today.
He studied art at Texas A&M University–Commerce. Later, he earned a master's degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. His childhood in Paris, Texas, also shaped his art. His stepfather was a minister, so ideas from church, like redemption and sharing, often appear in his work.
Exploring Hancock's Art
Trenton Doyle Hancock creates many types of art. He makes prints, videos, drawings, sculptures, and collaged felt paintings. His ideas come from comics, graphic novels, cartoons, music, and movies.
The World of Mounds and Vegans
Hancock is famous for his art that shows the Mounds and the Vegans. These two groups are always battling each other. They represent the never-ending fight between good and evil. Hancock has built a whole world around these characters.
The Mounds are ancient creatures, part human and part plant. They were created long ago from a special connection between a human and a field of flowers. They stand for the Earth, acceptance, love, and positive ways of living.
The Vegans are mean beings who want to destroy all Mounds. They especially hate "The Legend," who is the very first Mound. The Vegans symbolize people who try to force their beliefs on others.
Key Characters in Hancock's Stories
Besides the Mounds and Vegans, other important characters appear in Hancock's art.
- Painter is a motherly spirit who controls all colors.
- Loid is a fatherly energy focused on words.
- Torpedo Boy is a superhero character Hancock invented as a child. He has super strength but sometimes his human feelings, like pride, stop him from being a perfect hero.
Other characters you might see are Junior Mound, Bringback, Baby Curt, and Shy Jerry.
Taking Risks in Art
Hancock enjoys taking chances with his art. He feels most excited when he creates something daring. This could be about social issues, big life questions, or personal feelings. He believes that good and evil are not always simple. He wants his art to show that life often has many shades of gray.
In 2013, his artwork inspired a ballet called Cult of Color: Call to Color. He worked with Ballet Austin's Artistic Director Stephen Mills on this project.
Awards and Recognitions
Trenton Doyle Hancock has received many honors for his art.
- He won an Artadia Award in 2003.
- He received The Greenfield Prize in 2013.
- He was named Art League Houston's Texas Artist of the Year in 2017.
- In 2019, he earned the Texas Medal of Arts Award in Visual Arts.
Hancock was also one of the youngest artists to be featured in the Whitney Biennial. This is a very important art show. He was chosen for it two times in a row, in 2000 and 2002. In 2002, he was a Core Artist in Residence at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Exhibitions and Projects
Trenton Doyle Hancock's art has been shown in many places around the world.
- His exhibition "The Wayward Thinker" was shown at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Scotland and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands in 2007.
- His work was part of "The Compulsive Line: Etching 1900 to Now" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2006.
- He had a show called "Skin & Bones, 20 Years of Drawing" at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in 2015.
- In 2019, his art was featured in "Contemporary Focus: Trenton Doyle Hancock" at The Menil Collection in Houston.
- He also had a major exhibition called "Mind Of The Mound: Critical Mass" at Mass MoCA in 2019.
Hancock's art was included in the American Folk Art Museum's "Dargerism" exhibit. This show explored how artist Henry Darger influenced modern artists.
Most recently, Hancock was the lead artist for Bringbacks and the Beguiling Bringbarrow. This is a new art experience at Meow Wolf's Houston location, Radio Tave, which opened on October 31, 2024.
