There is a certain magic in suspending disbelief, in getting lost in new realities, and in embracing an alternative logic. With temporary suspension and shifts in normal conscious orientations in time, space, and perception, certain events lend themselves to magical qualities. We can accept and give into a sense of collapsed time and space, then allow our attention to be encompassed by the experience; a spectacle of sorts. My work places emphasis on our ways of seeing and experiencing the world, and how this helps to form what we believe to be real. I strive to create art that lays the foundations and triggers sudden awareness of the thinness and fragility of perceived reality.
Historically art is the ultimate spectacle; the creation and viewing of something impressive or unique. Paintings become windows to other realities, sculptures bring work into our physical realm, installations become a new space, while music and performances linger as time-based spectacles, and all of these things create a sense of wonder and awe.
The common and readily accessible nature of my materials - cardboard, glue, paper, string, cutting tools, acrylic paint and even the understanding of gravity - allows my art to be more accessible and allows for more play and interaction. Where life consists of one perception followed by another, each a fleeting, non-linear moment, I attempt to intervene in this process and turn each perception toward an event. I seek the possibility of multiple perceptions in one moment constituted by the movement of the viewer. I consider spatial experiences and how they might contribute to the altering of perception through illusion, framing (or lack thereof), magic, and the changing of light. I reach for a more inclusive art form, namely one that takes life into account by taking our understanding of our perceptions as events and questioning of time and space. I piece things together like a puzzle to reference reality and its facade. The world is our stage curated by our experiences. My materials are reminiscent of a theater set, allowing for the quick build up of a perceived reality before being torn down and remodeled into the next fantasy, which is analogous to our lived experiences.
My first love is to create for the viewer, often taking their idea and perception and bringing it to fruition. I focus on storytelling through environment and experience. I use figurative moments that help guide a narrative. The works claim their own capacity by reaching out into the viewers space. This installation focuses on elements of storytelling. I reference histories of storytelling such as typewriter (or an image of one), 3 dimensional elements that have the texture of a sketched or drawn surface turning 3 dimensions into a sense of a 2 dimensional plane, A painting of the well known reclining nude in our contemporary view surrounded by angles and gradients pointing to our digital existence and the an iconic film The Arrival of the Train (L’Arrive d'un train en gare de La Ciotat) where historically the audience became so overwhelmed by the image of the train coming directly at them they believed it was true and went screaming to the back of the room. I also include narratives created by my sense of play and capacity for wonder which could be a full constructed narrative or many narratives intermingling with each other. Viewer participation is relevant to the idea of the spectacle, suspension of disbelief and my work. When the viewer finds the facade of the work, it stays intact; once the viewer moves beyond the veneer, the illusion is broken. The place where the viewer is standing becomes their immediate perception and the basis for the event of reality. They become part of the illusion that is created. Their engagement is the activation. Once they move beyond the point of the unified image, their reality becomes abstracted. Boundaries, confinements, and frames break apart. A push and pull between depth and perception, both visual and physical, open up. I break the illusions that I build in my work to disrupt the experience of them. Revealing the magic trick is not to devalue it but to decontextualize it. In this way the viewer may come to realize that everything is not what it seems, and more importantly, may come to consider a new perception.
Spring 2020, 11 1/2“ x 9x1/2” x 8”, foam, Dayglo paint, wire, fabric, wood, 2020
Spring 2020, 11 1/2“ x 9x1/2” x 8”, foam, Dayglo paint, wire, fabric, wood, blacklight, 2020
Layers, Dayglo, acrylic, cut masonite, 2019
Show me what you’re made of, Masonite, Acrylic (optional Red/blue anaglyph glasses),2019
Untitled, Acrylic, masonite, superglue, on wood panel, 2019
Illusion Shelf, cut masonite, acrylic paint, yarn, wire, epoxy,
22” x 26” x 4”, 2020
I Remember a Time
Wood, masonite, cardboard acrylic paint
2020
I Never Intended on Receiving My Security Deposit Back Anyway. Full installation, Varied size, acrylic, cardboard, string, dayglo, paper, porcelain, video, masonite, wire, fabric, fishing wire, 2020