IN MANY RESPECTS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY WORK AND IMAGERY SEEMS TO BE A VERY NATURAL PROGRESSION. THIS MAY, HOWEVER, BE ONLY AN INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE.
I HAVE LEARNED THAT, AT TIMES, I'M A RESTLESS INDIVIDUAL. I ENJOY LEARNING AND EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW MATERIALS AND IDEAS. THIS ASPECT OF MY PERSONALITY HAS PROMPTED DELVING INTO PICTORIAL ARENAS NOT NECESSARILY CENTERED ON THE TRADITIONAL, OBJECTIVE TRAINING I RECEIVED. I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE OF RECEIVING EXCELLENT INSTURUCTION. MY FOCUS WAS ALWAYS CONSTRUCTIVELY CHALLENGED AND ENCOURAGED. I WAS EXPOSED TO A VARIETY OF CONCEPTS ABOUT PAINTING AND SCULPTURE WITH A STRONG EMPHASIS ON THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFIGANCE OF IMAGE MAKING.
INITAILLY, I ATTEMPTED TO APPLY DIFFERENT MEDIUMS TO THE WORK AT HAND. A COLLAGE WOULD DEVELOP AS A PRELIMINARY FOR A PAINTED IMAGE. THIS DISCOVERY PROMPTED 'STAND ALONE' COLLAGES REMINICENT OF THE PAINTINGS I WAS MAKING AT THE TIME. UNFORTUNATELY, THE COLLAGES LACKED THE DEFINITION OTHERWISE FOUND IN THE FORMAL DRAWINGS BEING PRODUCED, AND THE IDEA WAS ABANDONED.
THE PAINTINGS OF THIS TIME FRAME WERE FORMAL ABSTRACTIONS OF ROOM INTERIORS. THE GRAPHIC NATURE OF LIMITED SPATIAL ILLUSION BEGAN TO WEAR THIN AS SUBJECT MATTER. THE STRUGGLE REVOLVED AROUND MILKING AS MUCH DEPTH AS POSSIBLE FROM A TWO DIMENSIONAL SURFACE, WITH THE CONSTRAINTS OF A BRUTALLY FLAT PRESENTATION OF ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS,FURNITURE, AND A VARIETY OF ELEMENTS HUNG ON THE WALLS OF THE INTERIOR SPACES. WHAT WAS GAINED, WAS A BASIC KNOWLEDE OF FORMAL SYMMETRICAL ARRANGEMENT AND AN APPRECIATION FOR ALL THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS I ADOPTED AS SUBJECT MATTER.
SENSING THE APPEAL OF ALL THESE 'THINGS' AND REGRETFULLY MISSING THE SPONTIENITY OF SOME EARLIER WORK, I ELECTED TO SET THE PAINTINGS ASIDE.
I TURNED MY ATTENTION TO THE OBJECTS OF MY IMAGES.
THE FURNITURE, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, LITERALLY THE 'SPACE' I WAS TRYING SO HARD TO PICTORIALLY ILLUSIONIZE. THE COLLAGE WORK WAS RESURRECTED WITH
INCORPORATION OF 'REAL' OBJECTS.
ASSEMBLAGE GRANTED THE OPPORTUITY TO UTILIZE MORE OF MY AREAS OF INTEREST. I COULD PAINT, CUT PAPER, ADD PHYSICAL OBJECTS, AND IMPOSE ALL THE COMPOSITIONAL DEVICES GLEANED FROM PAINTING. THE IMAGERY BEGAN TO ASSUME A TANGIBLE ABSTRACT QUALITY, WHICH EXISTED IN REAL TIME, YET, WAS NOT TOTALLY DIVORCED FROM REALITY.
FORAYS WERE MADE INTO THE AREA OF SCULPTURE. THE THREE DIMENTIONAL PIECES REVOLVED AROUND FURNITURE,
NON FUCTIONAL , SOME HEAVILY CROPPED AND FINISHED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OVERALL DEMEANOR OF THE PIECE. IN MANY RESPECTS, THE SCULPTURE IS PROBABLY THE LEAST DEVELOPED AREA OF INTEREST AND SHOULD BE PURSUED FURTHER. COLLAGE WORK ALSO MADE A COMEBACK DURING THIS STAGE. SMALL IMAGES ABOUT THE SIZE OF A POSTCARD WERE PRODUCED. THESE GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO 'PLAY' WITH RADICAL CROPPING IN A SMALL FORMAT, AS WELL AS COMPOSE IMAGES WITH FAMILAR ITEMS TAKEN WELL OUT OF AN OBJECTIVE CONTEXT.
RECENT WORK HAS A RESEMBLANCE TO A LOT OF WHAT I'VE DONE THUS FAR. THE ASSEMBLAGES HAVE AN INTERIOR SPACE OR CABNIET FEEL TO THEM. I STILL MAINTAIN PAINTED SURFACES (USUALLY LAYERED UP WITH COLLAGE WORK OF SOME DESCRIPTION), FABRICATION OF FORMS AND FOUND OBJECTS EXIST, AND STILL, A HISTORICAL RESPECT FOR COMPOSITION REMAINS. I'VE COME TO REALIZE THE CENTER MUST STAY INTACT SO 'THE EVENT' MAY EBB AND FLOW.
