Constructing an Artist Statement
... and I hit my fingers with the hammer a couple times while constructing this thing.I'm gonna keep posting the revisions I'm making, maybe something will make sense soon. It's not an understatement that I screamed tiny screams several times today, and there is a little pile of hair next to my laptop. OK, kidding about the pulled out hair! I enjoy writing, but the purpose of this thing is to be straight-forward and clear about what I'm making and why I'm doing it. Right?Version: Monday, Oct 24
I work with the space between–what is in between here and there, this and that, one person and another. My practice is based on investigations of connections between people, from the micro level of individual experience to the macro level of systems and social structure. I am interested in what is safely revealed, what is kept hidden, and what is forced to be invisible.My paintings are made with encaustic medium to mimic the layers of personhood: information is buried under translucent layers, the blow torch sets it in place, and the interplay between surface, interior, space, & material is itself a kind of story. The video shorts are narratives derived from the interactions with materials in the studio, and earlier works use hardware supplies to find balance in back and forth communication.(insert 2 sentences for Conclusion. Something about fragile, or about missed or almost missed connections, or about how this work accomplishes what I set out for it to do. Oh geez....)
Version: late Monday nite, Oct 24
I work with the space between–what is in between here & there, this & that, one person & another. I really like to pay attention to what is happening to the connections between people, from the micro level of individual experience, to the macro level of social structures and systems people put in place to categorize themselves and each other. I am interested in what people reveal, what they hide, what is praised and what is subjugated.My paintings are made with encaustic medium, which is a translucent wax, resin & pigment mix. Information is buried, paint is smoothed on, the blowtorch sets it in place. The interplay of surface, interior, space, and material becomes its own story. The video shorts are narratives that came about as I interacted with materials in the studio, and earlier works use hardware supplies as a counterintuitive way to find balance in delicate back and forth communication.The material combinations, the titles of the pieces, the layers of meaning that are built into the works then obscured with subtleties–each of these serve as a way to create expectant animation. Each piece awaits a viewer who slows down enough to listen.(that very last sentence is annoying me. Like the pressure is all on the person looking at the art, not on my work? Is my work so great that the only reason somebody wouldn't listen is coz they don't slow down? doubtful...) :D sigh.... artist statements....
Version: Thursday, Nov 3
What is in between: here and there, this and that, one person and another? What is happening to the connections between us, from the micro level of individual experience to the macro level of social structures? What do we reveal when we devise systems to categorize each other? What are we hiding? What is valued? What is subjugated?My paintings are made with encaustic, which is a translucent wax, resin & pigment mix. I smooth it on, bury information, and set the layers in place with a blowtorch. The interplay of surface, interior, space, and material becomes its own story. In earlier works, I used hardware supplies to create a counterintuitive balance, a delicate back and forth. The video narratives record the interaction that emerges in the studio between the materials and me.The material combinations, the titles, and the layers of imagery built into each piece (then subtly obscured) create an expectation of exchange. I look for the careful listening found in that pause.
Mucho thanks to Sharon Butler of TwoCoatsofPaint – she helped me drop the passive voice in the statement and prompted the concluding sentence I finally came up with (which she then helpfully tweaked.) And so I am writing a little blog post in the next couple of days: "A Little Help Here". I do often benefit from the kindness of strangers. I hope I am able to return the favor.