BFA Seminar Fall 2006

We have evolved in such a way where consciousness has become a unique characteristic of our species. We have the awareness that this existence is impermanent and are periodically reminded of the uncertainty. I find this understanding to be a complex burden/ gift and find comfort in the scientific theory that energy never dies but is only transformed. I respond to those ideas/feelings and depict the elemental process that connects. These ideas can be grounding and disconcerting at the same time producing feelings of beauty and anxiety.

Artist Lucy Lippard states similar ideas in her article entitled Lure of the Local, “No matter how far culture will go to destroy its connection to nature, humankind and all of our technology, good and bad, are inextricable parts of Nature- the original determinant, the mother and matrix of everything that all pervasive structure that lies beneath […]�. Lippard articulates ideas of connection/disconnection/interconnection and stresses the underlying matrix that connects us all. The ideas of connection/disconnection are current themes in my own work. I have personally came to the conclusion that although we are made of similar elements as nature, our modern contemporary life has led to a separation and isolation from community and nature, where ideas of nature and it’s inherent resources (spiritual/ not finite fuels) has seeped out of our consciousness.

I am also influenced by organic, awkward abstract textures and shapes that I find in the everyday such as oil leaks on the streets, decay on buildings, water spots in dirty sinks, floor grain, stripped paint, rust and more. There is beauty in these organic remains and I try to reproduce these randomly found qualities. Artists such as Julie Mehretu, Helen Frankenthaler, and Eva Hesse who have used abstraction in original and dynamic ways have been influential. Frankenthaler also mimicked these organic characteristics; the ease of the color overlays in her woodblocks was influential in the choices I made when first making combined screen and woodblock prints. Eva Hesse’s drawings and fragile sculptures were influential in that she has uniquely created very awkward compositions and line quality within her drawings, whereas her sculptural pieces made of latex are light, extremely fragile, and delicate. I personally try to keep some awkwardness in my own line and continue to create a unique language with my drawings. I also try to keep my prints fragile, spacious, and delicate- intentionally leaving space for the viewer to contemplate the image and have a space to breath. Later on in my art making experience I discovered negative space, worked my way out of the square format and simultaneously discovered Julie Mehretu. What I admire about Mehretu is her layering and ability to achieve a sense of depth that I struggle to obtain as of yet. I also appreciate her varied lines to create a feeling of movement and space.

I currently use screen-printing and lithography processes to create an image. I prefer the way that screen and photo-litho in particular translate my fine line drawings. Each pull with screen or a run through the press is like layering another dimension to the work and can be seen as an analogy to the larger themes in the subject matter of my work. The inherent nature of layering within printmaking allows me to build the space that I so desire and that I find necessary in my image making, layering also creates dynamics in a two-dimensional space.

I am attracted to printmaking because of its physicality and the infinite possibility of combining processes and layers. Prints sit in-between a lo-fi aesthetic such as street art, posters/flyers, and the dissemination of information but can also be viewed as a limited edition fine-art object. I find this time to be an exciting one where what defines ‘art’ has become blurred in the realm printmaking.