Much of my recent artwork has been large scaled portraits rendered in charcoal. By utilizing a larger than life size scale and the direct gaze, my portraits are meant to be confrontational and elevated. I consider them really portrait-collaborations because I end up weaving so much of my own narrative within them.
More recently, to address my own significant distress and anxiety over the “state of the union” or what I and many others see as our collective American nightmare, I have created (to date) a series of 21 collaged “portraits” titled “Magna Calumnia, MMXVI”, latin trans: “The Great Swindle, 2016”.
The warp speed of events in our political/social lives (especially in the trumpian universe) tends to restrict any deep sourced contemplation, scrutiny or evaluation before we are subjected to the next bombardment. We can become overwhelmed, exhausted, and numb at such speeds of delivery of news events and imagery. This seems also true in the experiencing and making of art that references politics and social justice. Aiming to punctuate an issue, I find any impact an artwork can elicit can be immediate but, the message might not last long. "The DNA of the body politic seems to get bored and...complacent”, and everyone moves on. I seek through my work to put the pause button on, contemplate the moment, hope others do, and move myself to the next action.
More recently, to address my own significant distress and anxiety over the “state of the union” or what I and many others see as our collective American nightmare, I have created (to date) a series of 21 collaged “portraits” titled “Magna Calumnia, MMXVI”, latin trans: “The Great Swindle, 2016”.
The warp speed of events in our political/social lives (especially in the trumpian universe) tends to restrict any deep sourced contemplation, scrutiny or evaluation before we are subjected to the next bombardment. We can become overwhelmed, exhausted, and numb at such speeds of delivery of news events and imagery. This seems also true in the experiencing and making of art that references politics and social justice. Aiming to punctuate an issue, I find any impact an artwork can elicit can be immediate but, the message might not last long. "The DNA of the body politic seems to get bored and...complacent”, and everyone moves on. I seek through my work to put the pause button on, contemplate the moment, hope others do, and move myself to the next action.