Why Do I Make the Art That I Do?

Much of my artmaking seeks to expose the curation not only of art but of our physical and conceptual worlds, It takes as a foundation that a powerful, pervasive, and yet unacknowledged curation is a broad ideological imperative. This curation is ongoing rather than discrete It is an aggregation rather than a formally organized team or individual activity. For these—and other—reasons my work frequently prompts its viewers to question casual observation and to consider how our perception is both shaped by and shapes the madeness of our physical and conceptual realms. It does this as part of a broader effort to reveal what we self-censor what is present in our sensory spaces.

This all extends across my two dimensional visual art, time-based art, and my more recent movement toward sound and interactive installations. My use of these forms also shares a fondness for extensive blending of layers of my own work—and in the case of time-based and installation projects composited audio is often critical to the engagement. My presentations may inhibit viewing the entire work at once or they may use motion or sound to compel longer observation. Multilayered compositions often beg close up examination of dense detail. Unlike much lens-based work my process lets me create from an empty frame, widening the possibilities for exploring both social and aesthetic issues (and also offering a range of possibility in transparency, texture, and color that would be unattainable in most single-layered lens-based work). The visual density of the work, interactivity that changes the space in near real time, and connections to off-site components each give its observers many nodes from which to shape their own narratives and responses. 

This approach meshes well with my discomfort with today’s emphasis on storytelling in visual art. I believe that the focus would work against my desire to promote deeper observation and to prompt observers to create their own narratives from connection points in the work. I balk at calling my multilayered photographic work altered or manipulated. Like other art it is intentional—and I want it to at least whisper that it was made and thus requires questioning and interpretation—and that it is up to viewers to weigh its meaning, its reliability, and how it connects with their lives.