Page 62 - Reader's HouseMagazine - Issue 62

the Pacific Northwest of America. I miss much about L.A. especially its art community and
I visit there often, but I do not miss the city’s roar, it is louder than ever.
Across the various series of your artwork, what core ideas or emotions remain constant for you as an artist?
Contrasting chaos and rationality in-order- to create tension hasbeen one of my favorite objectives in each series whether abstract or representational; temporal or spatial; worldly or naïve; terrestrial or celestial. As well as ex- ploring spatial perception, especially when its unstable and disordered or when clarity coexist with fragmented elements reflecting how life oscillates between order and disorientation.
My Techspressionism art is expressly
about perception, all pointing to the playful unreliability of the viewers vision and rational thought. By using repetition, layering, color variation, and imaginary textures I create the illusion of space while retaining a deceptive flatness while rewarding the viewer’s eye
with visual pleasure within the tension. The fascinating alchemy that goes into each image is created from the bits and pieces of discard- ed ephemera I have collected. I stage, light, and photograph it; then alter it via computer programs (except A.I.). For me, each image is more than a document of ephemera for each provides opportunities to discover elements
of enchantment that connect with the viewer
in deeply profound ways. This effect arises from our collective consciousness and can feel deeply personal, maybe a little disquieting plus suggestive of other times, other places, other worlds or simply a dream incited. They even radiate a life force of their own that suggest something beyond them that leaves a lasting imprint on the viewers cerebral cortex. They are charged images that evoke awe, insight, humor, reflection, and empathy.
While it is true I enjoy the ancient human drive to take advantage of chance in the cre- ation of my digital art or writing, I do not use A.I. in any form.
You’ve written that your images can feel familiar, dreamlike, or even unsettling. Is that something you look for, or does it happen on its own?
As a result of years of conversations with
artists, curators, critics and collectors I’ve noted that the more observant among them reference that aspect of my art. In other words, whatever they and I see isn’t something I deliberately plan for in my work, but it is there. I often feel it has more to do with how
random, coalescence of these objects into what many artists have come to call Techspression- ism.
What writing tips would you give to aspiring authors who want to develop a strong and distinctive storytelling voice?
One of my favorite things to do after writing a thousand words or more is to set that work aside for at least 24 hours. Then read it out-loud. In doing so, hearing your words spoken, whether in a monotone or with accentuated pitch, cadence, timbre, lilt, etc. you will begin to develop your writing voice. Your choice of words and sentence structure will begin to reflect how you feel about what you have written.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors who hope to build a lasting and meaningful creative career?
At the top of the list is ‘be true to yourself’ for if you are not you risk becoming unkind, harsh, mean, hostile, and eventually ill ... mentally and physically. In other words, don’t write about a subject that is popular unless you are genuinely interested in it.
You mention working intuitively and grabbing materials on impulse. What tells you it’s time to stop?
The great master, Leonardo da Vinci, once said ‘An artist can find all the inspiration he needs by staring at an old, weathered wall.’ When I stare at one of my many piles of found ephemera to start a project the spirit of his counsel guides me. So too, when my intuition silently speaks to me of stepping back from
a work, I do so without hesitation. I do not question that directive for I long ago came to realize it is a divine gift, an endowment, that I will never waste or abuse.
I (and others) see life in general. Plus, it prob- ably reflects how our culture is under rapid change, and how many artists are addressing themes of protest and the emotional impact of global challenges without being overly blunt, brusque, or terse about it.After all, my images of staged pieces of ephemera generate an aes- thetic elegance that addresses a subject whose visual persona transcends its socially coerced repute and reflects upon humanities consum- er-centric existence while articulating critical engagement with the non-material aspects of the subject. Thus, expanding photography’s and digital arts evolving conversation with contemporary art in general. The work also reflects the fragility of both at a time when the boundaries between fiction and reality have become grossly blurred. Does that mean that I deliberately bring that mood to the surface of my work? No, I don’t, but I do concede that
it often is there, even though I didn’t plan for it to be. You could say that my nonobjective imagery is often an evocation of my subcon- scious reflecting a culture under rapid change and occasionally addressing themes of protest and the emotional impact of global challenges. Further, artists are often absorbed in their own inner worlds—infused with a voyeuristic, psychological complexity echoing the over- whelming isolation of contemporary life. Even with the availability of instant human contact via the world-wide-web the computer-based studio establishes a general sense of aliena- tion. This is not necessarily loneliness, but a kind-of ambiguity of subconscious psychic tension. My work addresses the solitude of this dream-like suspended time while ac- knowledging the life-like energy of computer technology. It provides instant access to the basic elements of art (line, color, shape, etc.) in an aura of denatured nostalgia or fondness for the creation of abstract expressionistic images. I achieve this goal by staging found ephemera (trash) on my studio work table, light and photograph it; then load the images into my computer and adjust them using a va- riety of programs (no A.I.). This process gives me the ability to immortalize the momentary,
“WHEN I AM TRUE TO MYSELF THE STORIES SIMPLY COME FORTH ORGANICALLY.”
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