ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I've always been attracted to the anecdotal side of an image, to its capacity for visual metaphor. The "what" of a painting is usually its weakest element, even among many great artists, yet the "what" in art as in life is inescapable: put an ax or a pair of bikini briefs in the middle of any picture and try to avoid the gravity of their influence.
Contrast is perhaps the most potent device a narrative artist has in his arsenal. By placing two seemingly irreconcilable objects side by side, one creates a visual dialectic that explores the nature of each. Over the last 20 years, I have utilized this device to create a series of visual variations. Books give readers an evolving sequential experience. Music also gives listeners an evolving, sequential experience. Because of the static nature of painting, the viewer of visual art can't experience this. By using an approach that creates a series of paintings that are related in what they explore, and sequenced in a manner similar to montage in cinema, the same unified experience can also be captured with paintings. I have completed 13 sets of these visual variations and have 7 more planned.
I've always been attracted to the anecdotal side of an image, to its capacity for visual metaphor. The "what" of a painting is usually its weakest element, even among many great artists, yet the "what" in art as in life is inescapable: put an ax or a pair of bikini briefs in the middle of any picture and try to avoid the gravity of their influence.
Contrast is perhaps the most potent device a narrative artist has in his arsenal. By placing two seemingly irreconcilable objects side by side, one creates a visual dialectic that explores the nature of each. Over the last 20 years, I have utilized this device to create a series of visual variations. Books give readers an evolving sequential experience. Music also gives listeners an evolving, sequential experience. Because of the static nature of painting, the viewer of visual art can't experience this. By using an approach that creates a series of paintings that are related in what they explore, and sequenced in a manner similar to montage in cinema, the same unified experience can also be captured with paintings. I have completed 13 sets of these visual variations and have 7 more planned.
