Work on Paper
This series of large scale works on paper are really a response to the preceding series: the graphite drawings and collage on Vintage LP record album covers. I proposed to build on this previous work during my residency at the Ragdale Foundation but I wanted to increase the scale. The daily practice of drawing, and then using that drawing as an object and element in a collage was of interest to me.
This initial piece completed at Ragdale, “Finding the Line”, is a mixed media art work including graphite, acrylic paint, and collage and measures 42” x 360”. I used the methods of the Surrealist drawings called “The Exquisite Corpse” as a working method inspiration. Each day for 10 days I worked on a 36” wide (x 42” high) section and at the end of each day I rolled up the completed section to hide it from myself prior to the next day’s work; only connecting lines were exposed to continue the work the next day. In this way I started the next day fresh and could respond to the subconscious mind and vision of that moment finding inspiration in memory, scavenging vast collected image files, and current news events such as the Japanese tsunami.
This working style eventually produced “Major States” and the Four Panel Piece (Mineral Falconry, Surface Tension, Lui Aussi, Natural Colour) as part of the studio assignment I gave to myself to make at least one finished painting a week for 50 weeks.
https://50paintings50weeks.wordpress.com
These pieces became more composed and planned than “Finding the Line” and eventually gave way to “Selfie: Feel Like a Man” and “Joinery” that tapped into the selfie source in a different way than some of my subsequent works. These two pieces responded to the commodification of users on dating sites, the sheer number of profiles, and how the “if you liked him, you may also like…” approach to overwhelming the consumer with product options. The strategy is most likely useful to the sites and their paid advertisers to keep people on the dating site. It is less useful for them if you find love and leave the site than if you stay on the site comparing available “products” and always wondering if a new model will be coming out soon. We are both the consumer and the product.
Work on Paper
This series of large scale works on paper are really a response to the preceding series: the graphite drawings and collage on Vintage LP record album covers. I proposed to build on this previous work during my residency at the Ragdale Foundation but I wanted to increase the scale. The daily practice of drawing, and then using that drawing as an object and element in a collage was of interest to me.
This initial piece completed at Ragdale, “Finding the Line”, is a mixed media art work including graphite, acrylic paint, and collage and measures 42” x 360”. I used the methods of the Surrealist drawings called “The Exquisite Corpse” as a working method inspiration. Each day for 10 days I worked on a 36” wide (x 42” high) section and at the end of each day I rolled up the completed section to hide it from myself prior to the next day’s work; only connecting lines were exposed to continue the work the next day. In this way I started the next day fresh and could respond to the subconscious mind and vision of that moment finding inspiration in memory, scavenging vast collected image files, and current news events such as the Japanese tsunami.
This working style eventually produced “Major States” and the Four Panel Piece (Mineral Falconry, Surface Tension, Lui Aussi, Natural Colour) as part of the studio assignment I gave to myself to make at least one finished painting a week for 50 weeks.
https://50paintings50weeks.wordpress.com
These pieces became more composed and planned than “Finding the Line” and eventually gave way to “Selfie: Feel Like a Man” and “Joinery” that tapped into the selfie source in a different way than some of my subsequent works. These two pieces responded to the commodification of users on dating sites, the sheer number of profiles, and how the “if you liked him, you may also like…” approach to overwhelming the consumer with product options. The strategy is most likely useful to the sites and their paid advertisers to keep people on the dating site. It is less useful for them if you find love and leave the site than if you stay on the site comparing available “products” and always wondering if a new model will be coming out soon. We are both the consumer and the product.