The Artist Statement

An artist statement is always one of those things that throws me off. The question of how does all of my artwork fit into one little statement. If art is a visual language, why does it need to be translated for the viewer? As I look at the work I have made in New York, I find a common thread between everything and that is the materials and how I am using them. Sometimes the imagery is abstract while at other times it is based in some form of representation, mostly with the use of an iconographic form that represents some sort of encompassing thought I have about a secret society for example. But when the representation is taken away, the drawings still contain a common thread. 

Apart from the representation, I am interested in creating a space that lies somewhere between three dimensional and a flat space that addresses the surface. I have been working laboriously on the small drawings so that 'feel' carries over into the drawing. A slow build-up of graphite on the tooth of the paper until the pencil begins to burnish the paper and change it's texture. Doing the same with ball-point pen while including multiple lines in order to give a shape a pulsating affect. Markers have allowed me a very 'dead' form of mark-making that has been challenging to work with but allows for a space that cannot be achieved any other way. The last drawing tool I have been using is highlighters. They have provided me with a means of accenting small areas while at the same time giving a rich color to the work. 

Abstraction has always played an important role in my work but I enjoy being able to use imagery when it is needed. And then the question of 'when is it needed and why' needs to be explained and that is where things start to fall apart for me. I start to feel that the reasoning needs to be profound and will begin to loose its impact if it is not backed up by some current social issue placed on our shoulders by society. 

When it comes down to it, I want my statement to be about what I like in art and that is the way different materials are used and how beautiful and exciting it can be when they are combined in one piece and  begin to speak in unison while still retaining their individuality.