Junior Thesis Project: The Sirens of Titan

For my junior thesis project at the School of Visual arts I created a series of oil paintings based on Kurt Vonnegut’s novel The Sirens of Titan.

In this series I used heavy, textural painting techniques and abstract colors as a reflection and exploration of Vonnegut’s surreal writing style.

The paintings begin at the start of the Malachi Constant’s journey, and follow him as he travels from Earth to Mars, Mercury, and (of course) Titan. Although Constant is the main character in The Sirens of Titan I frequently chose to leave his figure obscured, cropped, or unrecognizable throughout this series. I wanted to represent how insignificant he personally is to the overarching plot of the story, as well as his complete loss of identity as he forgets who he is for a portion of the narrative.

I was also interested in exploring some of the book’s other themes. In particular I was interested in the persistent, underlying presence of Salo and the Tralfamadorians. Vonnegut suggests that these extraterrestrial beings are behind all events in human history– both major and minor. Each interior illustration includes three eyes, a symbol of the Tralfamadorians, hidden somewhere in the composition.

This series of work was created between 2023 and 2024. All pieces are 30 x 40 inches and oil on canvas.