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"Circumventing the Earth via the electronic media can at times be complicated and frustrating… more so, for those who have chosen to live off the grid. For many, the acceptance of an Industrialized Culture where standardized performance and narrow expectations trivialize fundamental aspects of an individual’s view of the world.
With an unwavering dedication; formalization and traditionalism, the unquestionable cornerstones of consistence and inevitability continue to evolve. Regrettably, often resulting in a curative societal malaise for which there are few aesthetic remedies"
*You must be very excited about finally launching the website after a year of delays?
I am completely numb on that subject and a bit nervous sitting here, waiting to see the sample prints. If this new technology works out, then all of the hard work and research will have been worth it.
*What was the biggest obstacle that caused the delays?
The main problem was enlarging the artwork to poster and mural size. Many of these images were designed to be large prints, to impose their presence on the viewer. It would be like walking into a cathedral and being overwhelmed by the massive architecture etc.
*The Church of Maubidea?
At one point I considered selling the collection in smaller sized Giclee prints. Limiting the series to one or two sizes just to get them out to people who liked them was a big consideration. In doing that, retailers and designers may have viewed the collection as insufficient in range.
I couldn’t stand the thought of turning people away disappointed!
*Images such as, Confronting the Serpent and Vague Notion of Traditional Etiquette really lend themselves to the idea of a mural.
Absolutely, and the predominance of white as a base color will add a flexibility for Modern Interior Design. Those colors can also be reversed or customized for specific applications.
*Are they paintings?
No… they’re sculptures. Serpent (In the Garden of Eden), started out as a blob of color. It was an attempt at shaping a minimalist theme in red for greater contrast. Once the expression and the mood of the caricature became apparent, the next stage was to sculpt the eye and then the form of a serpent.
*How much time do you spend on developing an image and do you usually have a theme in mind when a work begins?
Almost all of the Automatist Sculptures start with a blank canvas and that includes the idea of a theme. There may be a technical approach I wish to explore, like layering different colors before starting to sculpt. That way, different colors and shadings will emerge unexpectedly and possibly lead to another idea or a theme.
Serpent and Vague Notion were each finished in one seating. I can’t speak about the way other people may work but when I’m focused on a piece, the session could last many hours – even days before exhausting all possibilities and my energy as well.
*Do you generally work to the brink of exhaustion?
Definitely not as a rule but that depends. There is an image posted on the Gallery Blog (Happenstance and Feathers), that is part of an ADS (automatist digital sculpture) demonstration. That image began with a faded photograph. It had no theme on which to build but somehow knew there was one in there.
After working the image for a while; the concept was going nowhere, so I closed the file and walked away. About one year later in 2009, something popped into my head when looking at it and visualized what I couldn’t see when the work first began. Several hours later the piece was finished and titled.
*Both images are strikingly similar, were you working on them around the same time?
I think so… they both stand out differently style wise, but it wasn’t the first time I was working with basic forms. Fashion Faux Pas and Duchy of Limburg were done along the same lines and are actually two variations of the same theme.
Sometimes I forget that much of the work is only the foundation in building another stage in an ongoing project – another reason why many appear minimalist and oversimplified.
Gallery images...
Confronting the Serpent
Subtitle: In the Garden of Eden
Vague Notion of Traditional Etiquette
Modern Geisha: Hanamachi District, Kyoto Japan
