For me, these three paintings exist as a narrative of my higher education experience.  Diminished represents the emotion of feeling stationary and hopeless.  Suspended depicts the stage of searching freely and the guise of persuasion, and To Play in the Evening illustrates wonder and contentment.  I am developing an understanding of these stages as I make choices regarding my education.  This work acts to continuously remind myself not to be consumed by stages in this cycle.

To Play in the Evening  acrylic on canvas 12”x15”

Suspended  acrylic on canvas 12”x15”

Flounder and the Soul  steel, rubber and oil on paper 16″ x 10″ x 3″

Can you make yourself happier just by smiling? What if you could get rid of a headache or think more clearly just by altering the look on your face?

This body of work started with my ideas of imaginary body systems that would be able to alter a person’s character or influence personality. Systems that could be added or removed to make one better able to handle stress, make decisions or speak a foreign language. A system that could change the way a person interacts with others, or compatible systems that would allow people to understand each other better. The majority of this work focuses on the face, and the way that facial expressions might alter a person, physiologically and emotionally. These drawings are attempts to visualize such systems.

As I imagined new systems of the body, I also tried to rethink my way of drawing.  Formal aspects became my main focus, such as breaking up the traditional square or rectangle, creating free form wall drawings and experimenting with non-traditional drawing mediums such as wire. The wire allowed me to explore my obsession with line yet push myself to use it differently, underlining the relationship between sculpture and drawing in my work. I began to use the wall as the picture plane, cutting the paper and extending the drawn line onto the wall itself.  These formal investigations have further informed my conceptual base and continue to inspire new work.

Perch 1 mixed media

Hunting Ground mixed media

Nest mixed media

In this exploration the images became less about the photograph but more about how I became the viewer of myself. As I began to look at these images they appeared to be an abstract representation for parts of my own life. There became this sense of wonder and mystery about the images. They began to create a story, a story of struggle, of understanding the ways my own life has been divided. Questions with infinite solutions began to reference the surface of the images themselves and became a way to define those questions.

The textured surface within the images gives the sense there is something to be touched but is just a little out of reach. With eyes closed beyond this water like surface as if to be drowning in life’s decisions looking for a way out and realizing that hiding beyond the walls of life can’t go on forever. Looking beyond the wall with eyes open searching for the moment to shatter the disconnection caused by those walls in life. A search to bring worlds together.

Self Portrait pigment print on paper 20″ x 27″

Self Portrait pigment print on paper 20″ x 27″

Self Portrait pigment print on paper 20″ x 27″

Presenting Fear        While painting this pig head the skin became very soft and subtle. To me a pig head is nasty, scary and very much something that I would not touch. However, the girl’s hands are grasping it close to her red and white striped skirt. The skirt‘s pattern represents America.  The complete painting is about how our country may present fear while holding fear within.

Holding onto Life       To me, ravens are the most proud, most fearless animal around. They do what they want regardless of what others may think. Ravens play alone and with others. It seems as if they are always enjoying life. Within this painting all of those qualities are being held, perhaps too tightly. Like “Presenting Fear,” the background is a pattern of red and white stripes, representing America.

Worm 3                      The series of worms tells many tales. Mostly, I enjoy the form and color within the worms. I love catching worms and watching them move. Like the pig heads, the worms are not inviting to touch. But I believe the form invites the idea of touch.

“Holding onto LIfe ” oil on wood  16″X 16″

“Holding onto Fear” oil on wood  16″X 16″

“Worm 3″ oil on wood  11″ X 11″

Joseph Downtown

acrylic and fiber

2009

Sunrise Road

acrylic and fiber

2009

Bath Plug

acrylic and fiber

2010

My own life experiences have played a major role in this realization of the importance of these calm, meditative moments. My interest in Buddhist philosophy, in conjunction with my perception of the state of society and the world has prompted me to start focusing on the concepts of slowness, mindfulness, and meditation in my work. Last summer my car broke down and I wasn’t able to fix it for a long while. I had to walk everywhere I went. This sudden change of pace gave me a new perspective on society. I started to see how fast everything was moving, at such a mechanical pace.

There seems to an ever-increasing pressure to do everything faster, better than the rest, and not stop and think about why. I don’t mean to say that we should never hurry, work hard, be busy, or drive. These things are a part of the struggle of life. I am simply trying to express the need for the balancing of these things with slowness.

Two Old  Friends acrylic on canvas 2006

Windowsill acrylic on canvas 2006

Portrait acrylic on canvas 2006

His work involves collage techniques, while intertwining the qualities of paint and line.  He communicates his conceptual ideas by layering a variety of found materials on a rigid surface.  By using warm colors and wood stains in contrast to the immediacy of his drawings he expresses the elements of tension and joy found in fatherhood.

Jack and I Cooking, Clothes mixed media 2006

Green Family Portrait mixed media 2006

Samuel with Crayon mixed media 2006

It is vital to the concept of the work that I take what I know of each sitter personally and complement it with a superimposed medical history of a specific medical case. For instance, in Parasitic Twin I used the existing history of Egyptian born baby Manar Maged, who had been born with a partial twin, considered parasitic due to her lack of a set of her own functioning primary organs. As the case history goes, when Manar and her dependent sister were born, each had their own distinct personality and sleep patterns. But through a very directed experience of lack of stimulation, by Manar’s tenth month she was physically developed enough to withstand a separation, but the parasitic twin had gone basically comatose due to a complete lack of attention. I was so horrified by this case I reacted by considering the impact of a different outcome and applying it to my own image, subconsciously expressing my conflicted state at thetime with decisions in my career and personal life.

By mapping real and imagined identity, I wish to lead the viewer to ponder the limitations of a person, of human beings, and also their transcendence. The work is 80% internal view; I wish to show a portrait of the insides of a person.

Tim Shaving, oil on canvas, 16 x 20″, 2004-06

Loti Shaving, oil on canvas, 16 x 20″, 2005

Parasitic Twin, oil on canvas, 2′ x 3′, 2006

By using found and salvaged objects and building materials from dumpsters and construction sites, which are signs for masculinity, religion, and social class, I am able to change the intended use in order to expose the objects and building material’s framework. This exposure reveals an awareness of the material’s place, purpose, and their relationship to the objects and concepts within other groups.  The materials act as dialect tools that navigate between the different groups.  This connection is important because it not only breaks down cultural fears, but also unifies the groups in terms of their vulnerabilities.

At its basis, the premise of my artwork comes from the process of connecting people through their imperfections instead of connecting them by cultural standards, similarities, and strengths.  I see us all bonded by our faults and shortcomings and the things that we refuse to examine.  For me imperfections are not so much a judgment, but a commonality.

mixed media installation

mixed media installation

mixed media installation detail

By partnering the life energy of organic forms with the rigid structure of urban material, the atmosphere alters. My interest lies in seeing how these two different forms contrast to and resonate with one another as an integrated image, while simultaneously contemplating the balance maintained by the two worlds.

Today we seem to have overpowered the natural environment with a strong sense of control. Almost all land is owned and divided into linear sections that fulfill specific functions. The more I explore city environments, the more this tendency is evident. In contrast, it seems to me that the living organisms of the natur al world expand their territory is flexible. A mix of representational and abstract figures in my paintings and prints are used to emphasize the connection and differences between natural forms
and architectural images. Collecting insects was one of my preoccupying experiences. My interest towards studying their body structure and their life cycle are the big influences in my paintings. My sculptural pieces covey the theme by combining geometric forms and organic forms. Each material used, such as steel, wood, bronze and stone represents the essence of nature as well as that of the man-made. In particular, the process of stone carving gave me a better insight into what it is like to create a design form out of already existing natural material. The relationship among form, movement, the organization of the space, and human interaction is central to my art making process.

“Metamorphosis Series: Mantis” Acrylic on Canvas 32′ x 48′ 2006

“Metamorphisis Series: Butterfly” Acrylic Painting 55′ x 48′ 2006

“Spiral” Stone and steel 15′ x 15′ x 31′ 2006