Billy the Test Subject

As you can see by the photograph, the work is a cylinder with a modeled and cast head emerging from the top. "Billy the Test Subject" (as you might have guessed by the title) deals with testing on animals. The head looks somewhat human, suggesting a connection between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. The size of the head, in proportion to the cylinder would indicate that the figure's body is concealed within the cylinder. The cylinder has a brushed metal-looking texture. The appearance of this form is intended to resemble machinery. Consequently, when the two elements are juxtaposed, one might have the impression that the figure is trapped inside a mechanistic form. This refers to the entrapment of both human and animal in the mechanism of industry. The referents in this work are the mechanisms of scientific experimentation and testing.

2005 - Gypsum Cement, Poplar

more info at: Superfluous and Critical Texts

Populace Fragments

“Populace Fragments” presents the viewer/user with a three-dimensional grid of constructed lines, with four zoetropes hanging amongst the negative space of the composition. The form resembles that of a large building. These constructions remind me of some of Sol LeWitt’s works, which (as he described them) were based on architectural forms in Manhattan during (I think it was) the 50’s. He stated that many of these buildings were based on the ziggurat form, implying a sense of guardianship; a separation between interior and exterior. Post-Modern architecture can be thought of as sort of a theater of our cultural psyche. In the case of metropolitan buildings, we can see out of them, but we cannot see into them. There is also a sense of isolation leading to insanity, (Schizophrenia) brought on by the idea that one never has to leave the building during a lifetime, in order to survive. This yields the possibility that (as in solitary confinement) the only connection to the outside world, comes from a second-hand media resource.

2009 - Gypsum Cement, Polyurethane, Paper, graphite, Lights, Plaster, Aluminum

Interactive Sculpture - The viewer can interact with this work, by blowing on any of four zoetropes, located near the middle of the sculpture. The motion of the zoetropes reveals animated sequences.

• smoke billowing out of a pipe
• a cannon firing
• black spots crawling on a man's forehead
• a mouth eating while excrement falls from between a pair of legs

more info at: Superfluous and Critical Texts

Populace Fragments

“Populace Fragments” presents the viewer/user with a three-dimensional grid of constructed lines, with four zoetropes hanging amongst the negative space of the composition. The form resembles that of a large building. These constructions remind me of some of Sol LeWitt’s works, which (as he described them) were based on architectural forms in Manhattan during (I think it was) the 50’s. He stated that many of these buildings were based on the ziggurat form, implying a sense of guardianship; a separation between interior and exterior. Post-Modern architecture can be thought of as sort of a theater of our cultural psyche. In the case of metropolitan buildings, we can see out of them, but we cannot see into them. There is also a sense of isolation leading to insanity, (Schizophrenia) brought on by the idea that one never has to leave the building during a lifetime, in order to survive. This yields the possibility that (as in solitary confinement) the only connection to the outside world, comes from a second-hand media resource.

Interactive Sculpture - The viewer can interact with this work, by blowing on any of four zoetropes, located near the middle of the sculpture. The motion of the zoetropes reveals animated sequences.

• smoke billowing out of a pipe
• a cannon firing
• black spots crawling on a man's forehead
• a mouth eating while excrement falls from between a pair of legs

2009 - Gypsum Cement, Polyurethane, Paper, graphite, Lights, Plaster, Aluminum

more info at: Superfluous and Critical Texts

Populace Fragments

“Populace Fragments” presents the viewer/user with a three-dimensional grid of constructed lines, with four zoetropes hanging amongst the negative space of the composition. The form resembles that of a large building. These constructions remind me of some of Sol LeWitt’s works, which (as he described them) were based on architectural forms in Manhattan during (I think it was) the 50’s. He stated that many of these buildings were based on the ziggurat form, implying a sense of guardianship; a separation between interior and exterior. Post-Modern architecture can be thought of as sort of a theater of our cultural psyche. In the case of metropolitan buildings, we can see out of them, but we cannot see into them. There is also a sense of isolation leading to insanity, (Schizophrenia) brought on by the idea that one never has to leave the building during a lifetime, in order to survive. This yields the possibility that (as in solitary confinement) the only connection to the outside world, comes from a second-hand media resource.

Interactive Sculpture - The viewer can interact with this work, by blowing on any of four zoetropes, located near the middle of the sculpture. The motion of the zoetropes reveals animated sequences.

• smoke billowing out of a pipe
• a cannon firing
• black spots crawling on a man's forehead
• a mouth eating while excrement falls from between a pair of legs

2009 - Gypsum Cement, Polyurethane, Paper, graphite, Lights, Plaster, Aluminum

more info at: Superfluous and Critical Texts

Brain of the City

I have been working on this idea of developing “construction systems” for the assembly of works using the same parts. The work, currently on display, is a recent incarnation of this concept. Throughout the year, I make castings of joints, which have been molded from a pattern. I also cut pieces of conduit and manufacture other parts. The parts are proportioned in such a way as to allow for a certain degree of flexibility in design during the installation process. Working this way affords me the possibility of indicating volume without developing a mass of material. The referent for this process is contemporary manufacturing and architectural engineering. The question of how the most stability and volume can be attained with the least amount of material, is often posited. Orchestrations in line are usually the answer. The vector typically bears much of the load in any engineering scenario. Line is (arguably) also the most efficient means of expression available to the artist, during the process of drawing.

The process of construction is critical to my own creative practice. When learning scales or chords in music, one builds on previous knowledge. The same is true in programming or any other field. Every facet of society seems dependent on some kind of construction, be it a faulty one or a functioning one.

Interactive Sculpture - The viewer can interact with this work, by blowing on a zoetrope, located in the middle of the sculpture. The motion of the zoetrope reveals and animated sequence of smoke billowing out of a pipe.

2009 - Gypsum Cement, Polyurethane, Paper, Graphite, Lights, Plaster, Aluminum, wax

Test Subject 3

This is a further exploration of the arrangment of these figures on the grid format. An additional metaphor I was working with here, was the idea of infrastructure. I became interested in the relationship between these test subjects, their environment and the ecosystem they share with us. The 3-dimensional grid recalls a number of ideas; monkey bars, construction of buildings, networks, potentialities, the human tendency to define spaces, logic. One of Sol Lewitt's referents was the urban landscape, which is important to this series of works. the idea of testing is an insidious feature of contemporary life, that many of us would choose to ignore. As a vegetarian/(aspiring) vegan, I am personally interested in the circumstance of animals, both natural and "bioengineered" who are tortured every day under the guises of scientific investigation, data collection and product testing. However, the viewer should be able to acknowledge the aspect of contemporary life, that propels governments and their puppeteers (the wall street bankers) to treat its citizens like the lab rats that are continually abused by "scientists", every day.

This work incorporates a wax structure that deteriorates throughout the course of the exhibition. The deteriorating form is placed directly in the middle of an aluminum structure. It expresses a sense of the hazardous effects indutries have on the surrounding world.

2008 - Gypsum Cement, Polyurethane, Plaster, Aluminum

Test Subject 2

This is a further exploration of the arrangment of these figures on the grid format. An additional metaphor I was working with here, was the idea of infrastructure. I became interested in the relationship between these test subjects, their environment and the ecosystem they share with us. The 3-dimensional grid recalls a number of ideas; monkey bars, construction of buildings, networks, potentialities, the human tendency to define spaces, logic. One of Sol Lewitt's referents was the urban landscape, which is important to this series of works. the idea of testing is an insidious feature of contemporary life, that many of us would choose to ignore. As a vegetarian/(aspiring) vegan, I am personally interested in the circumstance of animals, both natural and "bioengineered" who are tortured every day under the guises of scientific investigation, data collection and product testing. However, the viewer should be able to acknowledge the aspect of contemporary life, that propels governments and their puppeteers (the wall street bankers) to treat its citizens like the lab rats that are continually abused by "scientists", every day.

2008 - Gypsum Cement, Polyurethane, Plaster, Aluminum

Test Subject

This is an early exploration of the idea of arranging the figural castings and unfolded tesseract patterns on a grid. The implication in this case, was that science and industry play with the genetic code as children play games like tic-tac-toe. We accept the horrific results in the United States, in the form of cancer, obesity etc..

The correlation is that European countries have placed a ban on genetically modified organisms in agriculture, because nobody really knows what it is. Not so, in the west.

2008 - Gypsum Cement

Proteus

This work was named after the character in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Proteus is a "shape-shifter" and is also described as a usurper. I thought this concept was interesting, to the extent that it relates to the practice of biotechnological corporations that develop genetically altered produce, which takes over other, naturally grown crops. This phenomenon is not unlike that described in the film "the Blob" where the creature, devours everything in its path.

2005 - Plaster, Polyurethane, Poplar