Newer artist statement

If a person thinks the same way he did five years ago then he has wasted his time

Shattering a previous assumption brings light to the undiscovered.  In an epiphany a previous perception is dismissed; a person realizes they were wrong, feels vulnerable, regrets, stops wasting time and changes.  These instances are defining and leave us stronger.

I grew up a mile away from downtown Denver.  The chaos of the city is what I love about my childhood. In a densely populated city people work as a unit.  Impossibilities shrink with communication.  In my work I explore opportunities in unanswerable questions.  Being fascinated with the unknown I investigate epiphanies and their lasting impression on our development. 

I work with sculptural materials.  Working in three-dimensions gives my work more voice.  I am able to use form and scale more precisely.  I want to motivate people.

My artistic influences

In reflecting on my work, I found individuality to be a major influence.  Michel Foucault discusses the philosophy behind the author.  He states the usage of the "author" marks the “individualiz(ing)” of ideas.  Organizing art by individuals structures a new genera discovery.  To me individual ideas developed by one person is is crucial to the practice of art.  Not to say art by any means is it a monocentric experience but to produce work one must know their self.  Art is about cooperation and sharing yourself and what only you can create.  It is very much a dialogue. 


I am inspired by this type of communication.  Every person has something different to say, and teach.  Art does not polarize (simplify) a person, it expresses them with depth not found anywhere else.  I explore anomalies, mutations, uniqueness, adaptation and epiphanies because my life revolves around these mysteries.  I work because I like learning.


Specific modern and post-modern artists I share practices with are Warhol and Duchamp.  Warhol worked in many mediums and styles.  He stress adaptation to an evolving (art) world.  In an interview he states, "you ought to be able to be an Abstract Expressionist next week or a pop artist or a realist without feeling you've given up something. "  I feel this is very true.  An artist explores and solves; working from many different angles generates insight.

Duchamp's concept of the readymade was revolutionary.  He made art without aesthetics, just the object its self.  Looking at the function and physicality of the world is unique (insane).  Duchamp created readymades "never dictated by aesthetic delectation."  I think ideas such as the readymade has strongly influenced art.  












I like contemporary artist Will Wilson.  He includes elements of history, his identity, technique and concept. His photograph Autoimmune Response # 5 portrays himself, a Navajo man, with traditional hair and mud paint in a post-apocalyptic landscape wearing respirators.  He is alluding to the 1979 flooding of a New Mexico reservation with radio active waist.  The photo portrays a struggle for life and the right to life; the man's respirator hoses are loose in the wind being ripped around at a surreal speed as if they are fragmenting.  He is mirrored in the photo so there are two of him back to back with arms (one left, one right) outstretched, presumably holding a camera (because none else can).  Overall the photo captures feelings of inhumanity and uncertainty in a difficult existence.  His work made me stop. 

Artist Statement

If a person thinks the same way he did 5 years ago then he has wasted his time

I grew up a mile away from downtown Denver.  The chaos of the city is what I love about my childhood.  In a densely populated city people work as a unit.  Impossibilities shrink with communication.  In my work I explore opportunities in unanswerable questions.  Being fascinated with the unknown I investigate epiphanies and their lasting impression on our development. 

In an epiphany a previous perception is shattered; a person realizes they were wrong, feels vulnerable, wishes they had discovered sooner, stops wasting time and changes.  These instances are defining and leave us stronger.

I work with sculptural materials.  Working in three-dimensions gives my work more voice.  I am able to use form and scale more precisely, and with ultimate control.  I want to motivate people to evolve as the world changes.

3 new artists

I have recently been looking at Dirk Staschke, Kris Kuksi and Jeanne Quinn:

Dirk Staschke works in porcelain to create food, people and other natural forms.  He his work is realistic using incredible detail and glazes.  His work has a realistic feel.  Building decadent fruit arrangements and desert platters seems to be a comment on hunger, materialism and wealth.  Working in a material that is beautiful but not comfortable or pleasurable makes his work strong. 

http://www.artdirk.com/index.php

Kris Kuksi does sculpture, painting and drawing.  He makes fantasy models inspired by religion, Greek and Roman history, and mythology.  It appears he uses model kits and found objects and re-contextualizes them as a unit. Each unit is dense with objects with a great feel of volume and movement.  In some of his works he culminates and idea or person into one of these arrangements.  The meticulous nature of his work is his strongest attribute. 

http://kuksi.com/artworks/sculpture/

Jeanne Quinn does installation work trying to generate all encompassing spaces. The feel of her work is inviting, warm, familiar and as she states "sensual." She uses the space she is in very well.  The installation aspect of her work is essential. What she installs incorporates light, it also has a certain fluidity.  She makes some of her installed objects out of clay.

http://www.jeannequinnstudio.com/texts_everything.html