“A portrait of the Artist’s Intention: Simulacrum and the Pulse Between the Process”
A work of art cannot be summarized or seen as a totality by simply addressing the piece itself. As an artist, I have found the most challenging problem I face is accepting the loss of transmitting intention, meaning and process inherent in creations of artwork. To this end, I have focused primarily on process and the emotions, feelings and meaning which become associated to the process. I have no desire to become a “fine” artist. I have desire to experience connection and creation in my work
A work of art is greater than the sum of its parts. The influences and processes are central to why I create. This series of my work has been inspired and influenced by the concepts of Baudrillard in his book on simulacra and simulation*. It is also influenced by the “isms,” ideologies, and belief systems which shape the human experience. In many ways my “life” as the artist has been an escape and a commentary on this plastic world which is but a shade of our full existences. We are living within a copy of a copy. We have moved so far from the originals that we are evolving and progressing as people, using models which have been reprocessed and regurgitated so far from their origin. I find this fascinating. I do not intend or desire to make an argument or form a position in my artwork; rather, I desire to reject and shine a mirror on the “isms” and the simulacrum simultaneously. I stand for very little, because their is little in this world which is real anymore. I attempt to embrace life and creation for its beauty, without attachment. I am not a politic.
Apparent in my work are layers of texture, strong emphasis on repetition, and layers of a theme which strand through several pieces, until eventually, a stencil, or a word,... is consumed and left without the meaning to which it originally was prescribed. I often work from photographs and digital alterations to render a stencil, or to work off of to produce a copy of this photo (which, of itself, is in no way an original but a representation of something long gone). From the stencil I move between the negative and positive space which the separation between pallet and paintings surfaces. Often what is created by the by product is as intriguing and insightful as the intention. Because of this I often work on vellum paper, acetate or acrylic sheets, by which pieces may be viewed in several different ways, including being turned around so that both sides can be viewable.
This most recent collection has been a return to what I would call “art for art’s sake.” Although I have interest in commodification of these pieces the primary interest has been to detach from the desire to create with high degrees of aesthetics, to learn to accept the reaction to a piece without attachment or expectation, and to let go of the desire to produce something which is definitive or objective. I personally believe there is a relationship between simulacrum and what I have described here in this loss of transmission from the artist to the viewer, and it is my hope that this is reflected upon when viewing these pieces.