“Ira is cynical without lacking empathy, experimental without lacking direction. A dark, ambitious new voice.” – Garret Cook (Author, Crisis Boy)

about
ira rat works and lives in Ames, IA.

artist statement
My work explores the relationship between consumerist fetishism and the tyranny of ageing. With influences as diverse as Bozo the Clown and The Velvet Underground, new synergies are created from both mundane and transcendant meanings.

Ever since I was a pre-adolescent I have been fascinated by the traditional understanding of the moment. What starts out as hope soon becomes finessed into a dialectic of greed, leaving only a sense of unreality and the inevitability of a new understanding.

As shifting derivatives become clarified through studious and personal practice, the viewer is left with a tribute to the darkness of our future.

connect
email: eyerarat@gmail.com
social media: facebook – twitter

Books
fiction
Pacifier
Participation Trophy

non-fiction
Beginner’s Guide to Extreme Horror (w/ Jon Steffens)

art
i’m sorry mom

edited by Ira Rat
F•cked Up Stories 1
F•cked Up Stories 2
F•cked Up Stories 3
Teenage Grave
Little Birds
Isolation is Safety

anthology/zine appearances
Rock’n’Roll Horror Zine Vol. 1
Sniffing Ants Zine Vol. 1
Deep Fried Horror (April, 2019)

online work
Philosophical Idiot
Misery Tourism
Bizarro Central

music
Solo
Neon Lushell
W/ Richard Shirk
Tape Ends
Vicar Elm