Fighting Here

Here is part of the text for my recent "Creative Capital" letter of intent:

The specific focus of my project is the concept that we as a nation are “fighting an enemy there, so that we do not have to fight them here”. For some this is perfect logic, but for me it reveals a ghoulish cold heartedness that I want people to feel, first hand, through my art. I want to create a participatory installation “here” of tilted paintings suggesting that a bomb has gone off or that the earth has trembled. My hope is that through visual impact and physical engagement with this work, participants can begin to explore a view that is more empathetic towards the “there”. This work will take its inspiration from the memory theater of Guillio Camillo and manifest itself as an installation of layered and interactive easel painting constructions with handles and knobs for participants to lift and turn over. Building upon recent work, this work will differ in that I will paint rather than draw, incorporate the wall under the artwork and try to locate the installation in a non-art venue. It is similar to recent work in that it takes an almost encyclopedic, archival and journalistic approach in developing my imagery. Part of my mission is to put forth the kind of information one might find in an expose, or the work of Mark Lombardi, with the intention that a work of art can function as an elaborate “post-it” within its owner’s lifetime as a visual reminder to stay informed.