Writing Sample
2 paragraphs
Lately I’ve been interested in making seemingly dangerous art. Specifically, I am making art that tests our perception of personal safety. By highlighting the viewer’s body and their location in this world at any distinct moment, I am attempting to tease the audience into excitement and curiosity. Whether the viewer is confronted with a nine-pound sledgehammer swinging inches from his or her face or a wooden ladder leading into an unsafe attic space, I am forcing them to question what can harm them, and to distinguish between real and imagined threats. There are dangerous things in this world. Art can seem a dangerous thing, and yet so can a rollercoaster. Both synthesize the thrill of the close encounter. Both carry the audience from one emotional place to the next, while keeping them physically close to their starting point throughout the entire experience. They are never really placed in harms way; they are in complete control of their participation. The authorship of their experience is handed over entirely to them. Some participants will be thrilled while others will be nervous. My work exists in the space between logic and instinct.
I find myself repeating the mantra “I liked it better when we were a community.” The world continues to fill up with people, fascinating, wonderful, giving people, yet the world struggles to stay connected in a physical manner. Technology has begun to develop our culture instead of the other way around. I relish the chance moments of discovery between people who can remove themselves from their self-imposed privacy. I believe we spend far too much time in our own heads, often isolated and only absorbing information by digital means. We are inactive participants in an ever-advancing techno-narrative. But there are moments when people talk to strangers. Those moments excite and inspire me to initiate opportunities that both enhance and spawn face-to-face engagements. People I don’t know inspire me. I want these people to tell me more. I distill various points of view and stories into gesture and narrative to address contemporary life.
Lately I’ve been interested in making seemingly dangerous art. Specifically, I am making art that tests our perception of personal safety. By highlighting the viewer’s body and their location in this world at any distinct moment, I am attempting to tease the audience into excitement and curiosity. Whether the viewer is confronted with a nine-pound sledgehammer swinging inches from his or her face or a wooden ladder leading into an unsafe attic space, I am forcing them to question what can harm them, and to distinguish between real and imagined threats. There are dangerous things in this world. Art can seem a dangerous thing, and yet so can a rollercoaster. Both synthesize the thrill of the close encounter. Both carry the audience from one emotional place to the next, while keeping them physically close to their starting point throughout the entire experience. They are never really placed in harms way; they are in complete control of their participation. The authorship of their experience is handed over entirely to them. Some participants will be thrilled while others will be nervous. My work exists in the space between logic and instinct.
I find myself repeating the mantra “I liked it better when we were a community.” The world continues to fill up with people, fascinating, wonderful, giving people, yet the world struggles to stay connected in a physical manner. Technology has begun to develop our culture instead of the other way around. I relish the chance moments of discovery between people who can remove themselves from their self-imposed privacy. I believe we spend far too much time in our own heads, often isolated and only absorbing information by digital means. We are inactive participants in an ever-advancing techno-narrative. But there are moments when people talk to strangers. Those moments excite and inspire me to initiate opportunities that both enhance and spawn face-to-face engagements. People I don’t know inspire me. I want these people to tell me more. I distill various points of view and stories into gesture and narrative to address contemporary life.
Lisa Rhodes showed up in my library today. My excitement and interest in the world suddenly expanded one thousand fold. I hear what you are saying. How can we ordinary people so interwoven into our everyday lives step out into your world?
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