These paintings address failures in my struggle against passivity within American political culture, materialism, and art-making. I produce paintings as an attempt to contend with the visual bombardment within our commercial culture. I simultaneously confront and avoid that which I find troubling. Despite the anxiety and guilt I feel as a passive citizen and consumer, I remain essentially materialistic. I love things. Even in alleys, thrift stores, and in dumpsters, I find that my compulsion to collect is not unlike the phenomenon of mindless consumption that I struggle to resist. I inevitably make concessions and exceptions in order to live comfortably and conveniently. Rummaging through anonymous trash bins, I scavenge discarded objects, from toasters to toilets--household detritus which I may find particularly neglected, funny, charming, or sad. By stretching canvas over these objects I place them within the painting tradition, designate them as 'artworks'--while simultaneously reinforcing their objecthood. By painting specific yet arbitrary imagery, I refer to personal routines, bits and pieces of necessity, convenience, luxury, and insignificance. I highlight that which my mind habitually edits from my daily experience. Derived from both private and public spaces, these products reflect opposing aspects of contemporary isolation. They can be consoling and comfortable, or apprehensive, bleak, and vulnerable.
2007 |
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