"Gound Us" Statement

For those of you who care about what I'm trying to communicate with this piece, what the thought process or the elements which I worry might be missed come show time; here is my statement for the piece. It's still very much a work in progress but should offer a hint none the less.

“The Finishing Touch”

The idea for this piece came to me like a revelation or the punch line of a joke. Though it was abstract and formless, it was a blueprint for what could be, completely devoid of interpretation, or limitation. As I’ve labored on it some parts of have changed to accommodate time and space. Because it couldn’t exist as a pure idea, it has been ground up and mixed with ample doses of reality. Through the process of giving the idea form, elements of its potential and meaning have been gradually revealed, though I hesitate to claim more than a partial understanding of this piece.

This piece has been made mostly out of garbage, where trash wasn’t available; the cheapest possible materials were procured. This was in part, because of the size of the installation, in part because of the nature and intent of the installation and as a broader attempt on my part to move away from the preciousness and longevity of traditional artist’s materials. This piece is ethereal and living and as we die, it must as well. The appearance and tactile qualities of the materials have changed through the process but this is in no way an attempt to obscure what the installation is made of.

In a parallel to Turner whose paintings celebrate the violence of nature and in doing so hint at the inconsequence of man, This installation is about rooting for the tragedy, the storm, wildfire, earthquake or tsunami and hoping that there is some justice in absolute destruction. It’s also an extremely low tech interpretation of imagery and events common to pop culture, which continues to gain ground becoming increasingly flashy and visually sophisticated while not being terrible thought provoking or interesting.