Tears and Rain
The focus of my artistic inquiry is the deconstruction and reimagining of the painting tradition. The bulk of this study is manifest in site-specific installations composed of the detritus of artists and artisans. Collecting, categorizing and displaying found materials, and examining the relationship of these displays to painting, drive my practice as an artist. I consider myself part of a generation of artists who are reinvigorating painting for the 21st century by expanding the materials and vocabulary of painting. I work with recycled non-traditional materials that I repurpose into paintings, which I install on architectural structures such as walls. I also use photography and video to re-contextualize some of the objects that I collect. Investigating the meaning assigned to materials often leads me to new discoveries.
In order to create Tears and Rain, I worked with Recycle Force to source the materials for this installation.
Tears and Rain is my first installation composed of technological waste. Comprised of screens from deconstructed flat screen televisions that cannot be industrially recycled, this installation points to our consumption of and obsession with technology. With a simple fold, I have transformed the screen into a form that suggests tears and rain. Through working with this material, I have come to understand why we are so attracted to television screens and the light that they reflect: the materials that we produce for technology are exquisite. They should not be thrown away. With this installation, I am proposing a work that has the elemental properties of television, tablets and smart phones without the endless information, images, videos, movies and advertisements. Surrounded by the light and material of these technologies, the viewer is invited to disconnect and experience the present.
This exhibition was partially funded by:
The Internal Art and Humanities Initiative – IUPUI
New Frontiers Grant – Indiana University
Special thanks to Andrew King and Recycle Force
