Artist's Statements

Art’s Statement "Untitled #1-3" Project1:
I feel very connected to nature. I think a lot of people ignore their relationships to the earth, and animals. This is happening more and more in this present age. We live in a time in which people don’t feel safe letting their children play outside without parental supervision. Also with technology children and adults alike are sitting home playing video games, watching hours of Tivoed programming, texting, Facebooking, and other removed forms of social communication that don’t including going into the environment. This piece is about connection with nature. The form could be human but has some animal characteristics. This is to play with the relationships, the connectedness of humans with nature and animals. The location will be under a cherry tree that has been damaged in a storm but is regenerating, on a bed of bird seed which will be replenished. This will echo the little being’s connectedness to nature. The tree will flower and produce fruit and goes threw it’s natural cycle, like the life cycle of humans. The form is ambiguous in that it could be a little man or a baby because we are all human, even the biggest big shot was an infant. It reminds us that we are small and being made of ceramic that we are all delicate. Nature can wipe us out at any minute. We have to respect and should think about our relationships to the earth.


Art’s Statement "Masculine Fragility" Project2:
I created footballs to play with the idea of masculinity being fragile. You are supposed to throw them they are tough and durable until made of ceramic. Now they are rendered fragile and delicate. To be a man in our society is to deny emotions, to be a big strong macho man. An American man has to be confident, to never let them see you sweat, to have swagger. Football is a very popular macho man activity filled with violence, and manly pain to endure. Few women play football at a collegiate level and none make the pros. Even Holley Mangold can not break the barrier winning the Best Offensive Lineman Award several times from Ohio State football camps since eighth grade and set girls records for squat lifting at 525 pounds. It’s a sacred man sport, that’s why I chose a football. I took a masculine symbol, a tough object and made it fragile a metaphor for the nature of masculinity.




Art’s Statement "Ceremonial Cupdolls" Project3:
These tribal dolls or ceremonial cups are from a fictional culture. I was inspired by African tribal dolls from Chad, the double headed figure, South American ancient art, Haniwa deer head sculptures and my imagination. I started sketching the plans for these and making them before reading the “Altermodern” by Bourraid. When I look back on what I was doing I can’t decide if it is more docu-fiction, or archive. It’s definitely archive; chaining or clustering together signs from contemporary and historical periods. It is docu-fiction in that it is a melding of historical, journalistic and/or personal enquiry with fictionalized accounts. I want the viewer to come to their own conclusions about these pieces. To do their own speculative sociology as to these mysterious vessel dolls, their meaning, and what their purpose was in this mysterious ancient society.