I did them OR they happened. [1]–[2]–[3]
[1] For the philosophers in the crowd:
My statement might seem capricious but it is not. If you are told what to think will you have fully exercised your own beliefs, emotions and reasoning? Is the unmediated sensual experience not the most impactful experience? If I supplement the perceptible work with written explanations of my intentions will I not have failed to afford you such an experience? Clinging and attempting to control meaning isn’t possible and ultimately pointless. It is often the case that pointing out some of the references and relations within a work is helpful for the engagement of an audience, but that is the role of the critic.
[2] For those that don’t care for philosophy:
My statement might seem capricious but it is not. I understand that my accepting authority over what the piece means is a common practice. And my acknowledgment that I’m not in control of what even “I” think it means, as this changes over time, might leave you with a sense of missing something. Sincere apologies–and please accept my earnest claim: you are in fact the creator of any meaning any artwork can have. My experience of each of my own artworks has unfolded in ways that I really did not predict, nor should the attempt be made. I can tell you that I work with a balance of precise construction and intuitive compositional play. A lot happens in the imagination and design stage up front as is necessary when things in the world need to support their own weight. Each material and compositional decision is either perceptible in the work as is or not. Also, recreating my personal experience in making the piece is not only practically impossible, it would infringe upon your creative experience.
[3] For those undecided:
My epistemology professor, Robert Almeder, said in a conversation that he would say only that he did them, and if anyone can claim to know anything about anything, it would surely be him.
What follows might seem massively contradictory, but I have written many statements at the request of others. And it has been my experience that people generally don’t like my standard statement above — some get noticeably agitated with me!
STATEMENT for mind…body — a solo exhibition at the Carter Jones Gallery in Lake City, SC. Dec 22- March 23.
These artworks span roughly 20 years in my artmaking career, and for the most part, I consider my process to be an inquiry into the desire to know and thereby control. And who doesn’t want to know the truth and to thereby gain control over the pleasure – pain cycle if such a thing is possible. The organization of these pieces, the flow through the gallery, charts a trajectory from highly cerebral to physical. To me, this inquiry stems from my initial training in analytic philosophy and progresses towards a more recent study of non-dualism. You will see attempts at definition, conundrums, humor, illusions, and at times overwhelming density. If you follow a path from the text-based work towards the wood sculpture you will be following a rough chronological path of creation.
In general, my sculptural practice values the physicality of making, truth in the material, and less talking. But first, a few words! An important concept that I gather from the experience of these sculptures, individually and therefore collectively, is that of listening. The pillow and cushion pieces seem quiet to me, and their composition (the ordering of mass according to gravity) tends to create ambiguity in each element’s importance. There is no rule stipulating that being on top of rather than supporting from underneath is of primary importance. You might also find this in the relationship between the rectilinear piece of marble and the river rock separated by the trestle structure in Simple Deference to the Contrary.
The wood sculptures with carved hands or feet begin and end in a space of wonder at how we get through the day. It seems to me that Buddha, Nissargadatta, R. Maharshi, Adyashanti, Jesus and many others who have graced us with their words on being are correct about human suffering. We move through the day identified with a self in perpetual tension, reverberating between the banks of pain and pleasure. It is in the witnessing, a noticing of the meaningless, endlessness of this state that their instruction becomes significant and helpful. Rather than succumbing to fatalism the opposite of what we are typically taught to do becomes possible. I learned, from no one in particular, that we can overcome pain of any kind through control, through effort, through greater knowledge, through acquiring more. The insight, that isn’t really hidden, is that satisfaction absolutely does not last as we are inexorably within the desire – fear cycle (another way of expressing the pleasure – pain cycle). In response to this they all say in their own way, let go, be still, turn away, resist not evil, stop seeking more and allow everything to be as it is. These sculptures are not answers but rather images of our predicament…thinking that there is such a thing as control with a splash of their kind wisdom thrown in.
The following short statements concern the philosophy-based pieces where the origins or references to academic philosophy might help you build a better interpretation.
STATEMENT ABOUT THE WORK IN THE CRAFT + DESIGN 2019 SHOW
The pieces at the C+D show all seem to have a quietness about them. Certainly the construction wasn’t a quiet affair, but the experience I have of them now is that of being at rest. The simple lines on the furniture and the undulations in the carvings contribute to this as does the honesty of the solid material. I hope that these pieces engender that emotion in you.
STATEMENT FOR PAGE BOND GALLERY SHOW — Resting On Is Relying On
Thoughts on these sculptures:
An important concept that I gather from the experience of these sculptures, individually and therefore collectively, is that of listening. To whom and to what do we listen are more important than this everyday ability suggests, substantially impacting the choices we make and the way in which we compose experience. These pieces have a quiet balance, and their composition (the ordering of mass according to gravity) tends to create ambiguity in each element’s importance. There is no rule stipulating that being on top of rather than supporting from underneath is of primary importance. The result is a subtle intensity.
All you need to know (2014) is rather straightforward with respect to the function of a phone and the talking/listening process. This piece deals with being compelled to cease the endless dialogue (or running monologue). Pull together Now, The Imposter’s Charm Is Without Recourse (2014) makes prominent a found natural object by placing it in a comfortable, honorable position on an ottoman while It Will Return Even Without the Receipt (2014) attempts to do so with an imitation. Simple Deference to the Contrary (2015) plays with a similar relationship in that it juxtaposes a natural (discovered) shape in granite with a rationalized (controlled) quarried piece of marble. A Splendid Defense of “Possess” (2016) and I’m afraid the thought made it the case (2015) can be interpreted as involving consequences for a lack of genuine listening, whether to the non-verbal expressions of nature or to the indefinable within.
All of these pieces are ripe with ambiguity.
STATEMENT FOR PAGE BOND GALLERY SHOW — How Do You Know?
– SEPTEMBER 2013
It is difficult to select one unifying element for this body of work as there are many that would suffice: the process of defining, repetition of expression, philosophical conundrum, or perhaps the desire to know and thereby control. What I have attempted to do is to develop records of philosophical/analytic activity that could (if successful) develop conceptually and emotionally perplexing experiences in you. I hope you will find lasting value in the experience of these pieces.
list of pieces in the show: A piece of the conversation, Maxims of Sculpture, Summary, Self Evidence, Nothing is Necessary, Map 111, Map 701, Tablet, Anti-Intentionalism, Anti-Intentionalism Redux, Thing In Itself.