At a certain point last year I had a moment where I wondered where the value and purpose of art had come to lie.   I no longer had interest in

producing anything that was purely a formal engagement. Ideas of production and consumption had come clear as major themes in the work I had

made in the past few years but I felt there was something deeper. A way of seeing what is around us that was more comprehensive and investigative.

Art, being manifest from the filter of the maker's experiences and sensitivities, appeared to me as functioning similarly to the larger organism as

dreams would to an individual. Produced as no individual's success and achievement, but as something that translates the experience of living, on a

grossly macroscopic level, art making is a basic and necessary factor of human life.   If we consider the earth and everything on it as one giant

integrated organism we might begin to understand that the necessity of art to societies is similar to the necessity of dreams to individuals.    Just as

there are cells in the body that build the body's structures and pathways, cells that move nutrients, cells that heal, cells that cleanse, cells that contain

vast amounts of information, we also, as humans all perform these tasks to maintain the larger community.

I would like to find a way to produce art works that emphasize the structure of our earth as one giant, completely integrated organism.   Buckminster

Fuller's Space Ship Earth needs to be recognized as such.   Similar themes can be found in the works of artists who create alternate worlds or systems

of understanding.   Matthew Richie and Sarah Sze are two good examples of working through this idea.   I also feel strongly connected to the

context challenging work of Daniel Buren, the use of color and structure in the work of Jessica Stockholder, and Sara Sze's material transformations.

However influential these artists' works may be I have found and wish to continue to develop my own visual vocabulary and way of communicating

the ideas of macro- and micro-connection through my work. I see this leading to inquiries into basic biology, architecture, and similarities between all

elements of the giant organism, Earth.  

Intuition is a primary element in my making process.   A material catches my eye, I change it, I look at it again.   Objects speak to me in a new way

after altered that directs the existence of this object or image toward its metaphorical function.   Multiple objects enter into a secret world together,

interacting with one another, changing their purpose as they migrate from space to space, shifting their feel and how they are read each time they are

paired with a different set of objects/images.   The arrangement of the objects, the context within which they exist, as self-referential as this my be,

greatly affects how they are understood. The idea of context weighing on meaning obviously exists in many disciplines. This intuitive element to my

process grows from our unlearned ability to play and imagine as we get older.   I desire to maintain and cultivate a unity of play/imagination/intuition

with humanitarianism. My goal is to create works that engage the audience beyond standard guidelines for art viewing,   in turn enlightening the

audience, enlivening their sense of curiosity and imagination, relieving stress, and thus creating a more happy and efficiently functioning human

being.  

My strengths lie in creative problem solving and community building.   I enjoy working with others to solve technical execution of concepts

and artworks.   Engaging in a graduate school community would be an exciting opportunity to network and forge creative relationships with fellow

students, faculty, and the surrounding community.   An ultimate goal of mine is to activate the presence of art beyond the walls of the museums and

galleries in order to reunite art and everyday life.   Finding a solid community with a built in support system would be a fertile environment to

cultivate this goal and communicate results.