Work samples

  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, installation view
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, installation view
  • RL Tillman, Aphorisms, installation view
    RL Tillman, Aphorisms, installation view
  • RL Tillman, Blotto
    RL Tillman, Blotto
  • RL Tillman Goya Swipe No. 1
    RL Tillman Goya Swipe No. 1
    An homage to one of the greats.

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About R.L.

Baltimore County

Born and based in Baltimore, R.L. Tillman is an artist, teacher, and curator. 

In his creative work, he twists and tweaks the visual culture of our time to explore issues in society, politics, and art. Often working in unusual venues, he uses many means: graphic media, installation, performance, publication, writing and more. R.L. has exhibited his art throughout the U.S. at sites including… more

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MEME PROBLEM/LE MÊME PROBLÈME

Reinterpreting propaganda posters of the “Atelier Populaire,” produced in 1968 by student demonstrators in Paris, this project interrogates the culture of communication enabled by the Internet, and demonstrates how new digital technologies mirror the historic evolution of print technologies. Half a century later, I revisit these works to reflect on the limits and possibilities of persuasive discourse. 
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, installation view
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, installation view
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Le Meme Problem
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Le Meme Problem
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Mexico Will Not Pay
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Mexico Will Not Pay
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, La Beauté In Our Tweets
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, La Beauté In Our Tweets
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, What About Both Sides
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, What About Both Sides
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, This is Fine
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, This is Fine
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, No Puppet
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, No Puppet
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, The Failing New York Times
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, The Failing New York Times
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Covfefe
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Covfefe
  • RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Pluralism Oui
    RL Tillman, Meme Problem/Le Même Problème, Pluralism Oui
    •

    • APHORISMS (SUGGESTION BOXES)

    This installation consists of empty cardboard containers imprinted with a series of weak propositions for self-improvement. These “suggestion boxes” evoke the the equally empty advice that typifies the banal social chatter we use to avoid discussion of larger issues. 
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms, installation view
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms, installation view
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms, installation view
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms, installation view
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Make A List)
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Make A List)
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Be Nice)
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Be Nice)
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Try the Fish)
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Try the Fish)
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Call Your Mother)
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Call Your Mother)
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Lose Some Weight)
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Lose Some Weight)
    • RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Bring an Umbrella)
      RL Tillman, Aphorisms (Bring an Umbrella)
    •

    • BLOTTO

    I gathered these crushed bottle caps from an alley adjacent to a tavern near the place where I worked for many years. The inscrutable rebuses imposed on these images evoke the puzzles printed inside some beer bottle caps: poorly designed and impossible to interpret. Whether blurry-eyed or clear-headed, one must seek the counsel of others to determine even remotely plausible guesses at the "answer" of a bottle cap rebus. In that small way, these small printed failures offer a sense of community, even in a lonely place like a small, sad tavern that is so close, yet so far away. 
    • RL Tillman, Blotto
      RL Tillman, Blotto
    • RL Tillman, Blotto detail
      RL Tillman, Blotto detail
    • RL Tillman, Blotto detail
      RL Tillman, Blotto detail
    • RL Tillman, Blotto detail
      RL Tillman, Blotto detail
    • RL Tillman, Blotto detail
      RL Tillman, Blotto detail
    • RL Tillman, Blotto detail
      RL Tillman, Blotto detail
    •

    • FEARFUL SYMMETRY

    Installed at a local private school, Fearful Symmetry presents merchandise from the (fictitious) William Blake Academy for Boys’ Spirit Shop. These printed promotional materials absurdly juxtapose the passionate zeal of sports fandom with the earnest fervor of the Romantic poet.
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, Blake Academy crest
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, Blake Academy crest
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry installation view
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry installation view
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry installation view
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry installation view
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry installation view
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry installation view
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry stuffed toys and rally flags
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry stuffed toys and rally flags
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, pencils and pennants
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, pencils and pennants
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, hoodies
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, hoodies
    • RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, T-Shirts
      RL Tillman, Fearful Symmetry, T-Shirts
    •

    • MISC. PRINTS AND PRODUCTS

    A selection of fine prints and printed products.
    • RL Tillman, In Memoriam
      RL Tillman, In Memoriam
      T-Shirts produced in memory of a now-lost local favorite; distributed through local charity thrift shops.
    • RL Tillman, Bail Bonds Bootleg
      RL Tillman, Bail Bonds Bootleg
      Bootleg pens produced in objection to a local favorite, distributed regionally.
    • RL Tillman, C.C. (We Should Be Giving These People Duplication Machines)
      RL Tillman, C.C. (We Should Be Giving These People Duplication Machines)
      Giveaway posters and installation, a response to a peculiar model of foreign intervention that was once proposed.
    • RL Tillman, Dismal Hold
      RL Tillman, Dismal Hold
      Stumbling and bumbling in the early 21st Century
    • RL Tillman, Glory Days
      RL Tillman, Glory Days
      We had our moment.
    • RL Tillman, While You Were Out
      RL Tillman, While You Were Out
      Printed memo pads and participatory installation.
    • RL Tillman Goya Swipe No. 1
      RL Tillman Goya Swipe No. 1
      An homage to one of the greats.
    • RL Tillman, Sequence Sequel
      RL Tillman, Sequence Sequel
      After Muybridge
    • RL Tillman, Knock Off
      RL Tillman, Knock Off
      Screenprint on paper, things still grow.
    •