Dutch Golden Age. Alongside, in front of or within the painted areas screens or other contemporary or vintage media objects such as screens, cassette players, speakers are incorporated. These works explore ideas about contemporary media including the negative effects of social media, the attention economy and technology in general. For Hedges, pairing painting with televisions, vintage electronics, and other screens serves as a way to reflect on the lens of technology. Hedges' visual art is influenced by the early internet, Robert Rauschenberg and René Magritte. Hedges has participated in many exhibitions including solo exhibitions at Bolivar Gallery at the University of Kentucky, Chase Gallery in Spokane, WA and Artworks in Loveland, CO. He currently lives in Pullman, WA where he is an Associate Professor of Painting/Intermedia at Washington State University and the founder of Pullman Arts Foundation, a nonprofit focused on public art. Music In addition to his visual art career, Hedges is known as the lead vocalist and main songwriter for the American alternative rock music group July for Kings. July For Kings had moderate success especially in the Cincinnati area in the late 1990's and early 2000's. As of 2016, he has released four studio albums with the band: Swim (2002), Nostalgia (2004), Monochrome (2009), and Middletown (2015). The band's output decreased when Hedges refocused his life on visual arts. Hedges is also known for his solo songwriting career. Straying from the alternative rock route that he had known so well with July for Kings, he incorporates a more electronica and pop rock sound to his solo music. He has released two studio albums: Curvature (2007) and Alchemy (2010). He has also released one compilation album: Lexington Demos (2008). These albums combine acoustic sounds with contemporary electronic sounds, foregrounding Hedges visual art that also contrasts seemingly disparate approaches and aesthetics. Cincinnati's flagship arts publication CityBeat called Hedges' songwriting "mature and accomplished and his soundscapes provocative and full of depth...Call it imaginative, soulful ElectroPop for grown-ups." Music Discography Solo Curvature (Machines & Dreams/Blumpco, 2007) Lexington Demos (Machines & Dreams, 2008) Alchemy (Joe Hedges, 2010) July for Kings Swim (Geffen, 2002) Nostalgia (Machines & Dreams, 2004) Monochrome (Machines & Dreams, 2009) Middletown (Machines & Dreams, 2015) References Musicians from Cincinnati 1980 births Living people People from Trenton, Ohio