| Initiation of the creative process for me involves an effort to reach a strong visual presence in a piece that communicates an idea or issue, often generalized to the point of offering multiple interpretations. Formal development is usually complimented by a new challenge in context, material, or scale. Through these efforts, my goal is to ultimately imbed the imagery of the work in the memory of its viewer.
Over time, my work has evolved to entail not only sculpture, but also drawing and an intentional combination of the two. I enjoy the static nature of sculpture and its existence in the same space as the viewer. Conversely, the gesture, immediacy, and atmosphere possible in drawing can accomplish much that the discrete object cannot. Works on paper that incorporate both drawing and sculptural elements can bridge the two distinct art forms. (see Man in the Middle at left)
Content in my work is usually socially oriented and probes the ways in which we communicate with one another or with nature. Titles are used to initiate a questioning process in the spectator's mind, and the sensate aspect of communication is explored by investigating how we see, hear, think, or wonder. A mix of formal, symbolic, and abstract elements will hopefully combine with content issues or suggested narratives to bring the viewer into a kind of "ball park" of content or context. When this works, viewers are left at this moment to add to the circumstances using their own creative processes. A sardonic humor is often evident in pieces, intended to undermine pretense and bring some levity to the viewer experience.
In some works, an activity is portrayed. These “situational” artworks, in which the viewer experiences the subject in action at a specific moment in time, present an additional layer of content. In each of these figurative sculptures, the viewer approaches the piece to find the main subject of the work to be concentrating on an object or series of objects held in front of the figure. Instead of "looking into the eyes" of the figure, the viewer looks at a situation which was in process before his arrival. (see The Collector at left)
Some works are obsessive and maximal, while others incline towards reduction. Large and small elements are combined in what is sometimes a field of particles. Geometric, abstract, and symbolic forms illuminate bits of information that may collectively bring the spectator toward the intended point, an emotional condition, or a level of visual satisfaction.
Liquid media on paper and metal are the two contrasting materials with which I work. The pieces are constructed in my studio in Dripping Springs, Texas with the aid of a studio assistant. Few elements in the process are “farmed out,” and the majority of the metal casting is done at the University of Texas at Austin.
I am familiar with and indebted to art history, contemporary art, and the cultural iconography left by the ancients.
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