John McVay teaches art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he earned an MFA degree in Fine Arts. A transplant to Las Vegas, McVay has spent most of his life in Arizona, between Phoenix and Tucson. His visual language has been shaped by immersion and involvement in the punk, metal, and noise scenes in Arizona; a collage sensibility and D.I.Y. aesthetic threads McVay’s work together like patches on a denim vest. He has an affinity for collecting things and searching thrift stores for materials, seeking items that others may think belong in a landfill (cassette tapes, records, old magazines, dirty stuffed animals). McVay’s interests in deconstructing the performance of masculinity, the influence of mediated experiences on social conditioning, and a critical examination of power are guiding themes that intertwine to inform paper artworks, noise music, video performances, installations, and soft sculptures.