In 1964, the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte painted a self-portrait he titled “Le fils de l’homme,” or “The Son of Man.” The subject in the painting is a man wearing a topcoat and a bowler hat. He’s standing in front of a low wall, behind which can be seen the sea and sky. Obscuring the man’s face is a green apple.
“The Son of Man” was partially the inspiration for Matt Clafferty’s self-portrait that was part of a large works show titled “Amplified” at Art Center Waco earlier this year. In his piece, which is a wood cut-out, Clafferty is wearing jeans, a button-down shirt, skinny tie and red sneakers. His hands are in his pockets.
But his face and part of his torso are obscured by a pair of giant goldfish. His face is in the painting, “but it’s under layers and layers that you can’t see,” he said.
The outfit in the portrait is what Clafferty usually wears when he’s teaching art at Bishop Louis Reicher Catholic School, where he has worked for eight years. For 11 years prior to that, he was a stay-at-home dad to three daughters, and a graphic designer at the Waco Tribune-Herald designing covers for Waco Today before that. Clafferty’s wife Stephanie is a social worker at the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System.
Clafferty grew up in Waco, graduated from Midway High School and — after changing majors five times — earned a degree in art with a focus in computer art, drawing and painting with a marketing minor from the University of North Texas. He became interested in art as a child while reading his older brother’s comic books.
“I thought they were awesome,” he said, “and I wanted to learn how to draw like they did in the comic books. I begged my dad for the longest time. Finally, he sat down with me and said, ‘OK, let’s draw something from one of your comic books.’ I’ve been going ever since.”
Clafferty’s art is also inspired by the beautiful stained-glass windows at St. Louis Catholic Church, where his family attended.
“Being 6 or 7 years old. I remember looking up at the stained-glass windows and thinking, that’s just really cool. My dad explained, ‘People, that’s their job. They put those together and make those windows.’ It all had a big effect on me.
“I think a lot of artists look at the world from a different perspective. Like, ‘How can I do that’ instead of just like, ‘Oh, that’s neat.’ And that’s been me my whole life.”
Clafferty feels blessed to work at Bishop Reicher, his wife’s alma mater.
“I’m teaching art and I’m existing around that world every day and sharing it with kids and I get to research art history and teach about it,” he said. “I feel that it’s more than just a job.”
“Self Portrait with Goldfish”
Matt Clafferty’s father, Michael Clafferty Sr., suffered a stroke in 2016 and was at a rehabilitation facility in Austin during his recovery.
“It was touch-and-go for a while. He couldn’t communicate at all,” Matt Clafferty said. “He could understand us, and I could sit and watch a baseball game with him. We could get upset when there’s a bad call or something, but he couldn’t speak anymore. It’s tough to see your dad weak like that.”
Prior to Clafferty’s visits to his father, he would stop at a nearby pet store and “just kind of chill in the aquarium section,” he said.
“I would watch the fish for a few minutes, and it would help me settle down so I could go and be a good son to my dad,” Clafferty explained. “Fish are like peace to me. When I was doing my self-portrait, I wanted it to be representative of me, and I wanted to share that peace with people. So, I have goldfish, like I’m in the aquarium, and goldfish are floating in front of me.”
