Artist's Statement
On Creativity:
It seems like everything has already been done. From writing to art making, I’m certain that someone has already thought of it and done it. It’s that idea that tends to inhibit my work. When I do create, I do so from memory or from past associations. I don’t think in symbols or metaphors, but more so in concrete details. The line between language and visual art is undefined, which is why both often appear in my work. I’m still trying to figure out if my art is an image with words, or if my writing is a language of images. Either way, there is no separation between myself and my work. When I paint, I paint objects—not ideas. And when I sculpt, I make things—just things. But these objects and things are connected to me, so naturally there is personal meaning. For this reason, a viewer or reader of my work sometimes sees more or something different than perhaps what is actually there. In some cases, he or she probably finds more than I have intended. But that is art. On Archiving and Artifacts: I’m a bit obsessed with personal documentation and preservation. Artifacts connect us to who we used to be—either as individuals or as a civilization. I like looking back on my collections and trying to remember where I was in life when I created a particular piece of art or writing. I tend to tuck them away and not lay eyes on them for several years. Then when I do, oftentimes they appear new to me, as if they are pieces of someone else’s past. Sometimes I see a piece and find it so terrible that I can’t believe I created it, while sometimes I’ll look at a piece and think how brilliant it is. This requires me to face my folly and my brilliance, but more so, it reminds me of myself. I think we all need to practice self-reflection in this way occasionally. So often we tend to do this, but in the present sense; we compare ourselves to others and feel either superior or inadequate. That is ego, not self-reflection. |
Self Portrait, 2004, watercolor 18"x24"
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