Michael Woolard is very interesting and in all a different artist - he is different in style, 

topic, semantic plan, powerful engagement and a very interesting working technique. In any case Woolard belongs to the rock generation of artists - the generation that has given a lot to the rock culture and has also acquired a lot from it. When I say "rock culture" I do not mean the extremely commercialized rock, which we listen to nowadays and which has turned into its opposite. I mean the authentic rock, the rock that has emerged as special revolt of young generation during the sixties in the past century, against the social motions, wars, injustices, and, at the same time, as a cultural liberation of the young generation, without the hypocrisy - by opening the theme of Eros as transcedency of the absurdity of life. The rock culture has found a very suitable ground on the plan of music, film, literature, theatre...

But on the plan of the visual arts the rock culture had its maximal achievements only on the plan of controversial pop-art excursion. Pop-art has found its place in galleries all over the world, but the authentic ( let us give it that name ) rock art could have been seen only on the record covers of big rock bands.

Woolard is one of the very rare artists who come before us with their works of art in an entirely open manner, demonstrating in addition completely openly and honestly the original rock philosophy on the semantic plan of his work but also on the plan of act of constructing the work.

What do I want to say? Michael Woolard does not use cheap tricks, controversial appearances and other circumstances connected to pop-art, in order to draw attention to his work. No! Woolard's only instrument is his work. Of course, his work can sometimes be seen as shocking, intriguing, provocative- that is, after all, a characteristic of all great artists -, but that is all on the level of work, on the level of art.

The symbolic iconography of this artist is consistently connected to the iconography of the early rock culture - leaders of the world's left wing, dictatorships, wars, injustices, Norman Mailer, psychedelic and also indications of magic. Everything is again there, in its original form, as if the legends of the 60-ties were alive again, but now in the world of visual art. The same way as the rock culture searched at the time for the alternative on all plans (art, philosophy, sociology, politics...etc), Woolard offers the alternative. The first contact with Woolard's works reminds of the techniques which are characteristic for graphics, paper and drawing. However, it is about the works done in glass. Naturally, it is about the additional semantic plan, because glass is, of course, life- cold and sharp, but at the same time very weak, breakable and transient- what is worth are works of art impressed in it.

© Nikola Kitanovic, 2002