Artistic
Statement
My work since 1980 has focused on the art of creating the commission as an interactive
and separate art form. It is clear to me, the many positive and educational effects
art can bring to the people involved with its creation. For every commissioned
and/ or public art work I’ve executed, there has been thorough research done on
how it could most interact with it’s future viewers, the architecture developed
for the building, the style of the interior design, and the philosophy of it’s
owners. I enjoy the challenge of creating a "solution" for each site or situation.
I consider myself to be a public artist. This became a field of art long after
I began being one. I usually invent ahead of what's currently appropriate in the
art world. In 1991 I began designing for Centrak Laser Corporation. At that time,
I had begun aerial flying sculptures made of heat stretched nylon, lit with theatrical
lighting. When the laser artist saw these, he ran a small laser across them and
this began an interesting collaboration. The mix of technology and art seems natural
to the mix of art with light. Since then we've designed many switching and dimming
systems and combined these with mechanical dynamics. Movement adds a great deal
to a work of art, as does changes from night to day, and dimming and mixing various
colors. Inter-active abilities also may then come into play, and the addition
of sound. Most of all for me, it is the environmental quality allowed by being
able to affect the entire scene. My research also frequently involves the viewer
or client. I want to know what their interests and lives are about. I find various
ways to incorporate their input into the work. This makes it theirs and adds to
their appreciation, and for me is part of the inter-active nature of the work.
The mix of different, often incompatible, media is also a part of this as well
as the use of many angles of view and currently of time. I pursue my art in several
series. My light and technology work speaks to the beauty I see on the planet
and with the inter-activity of humans. I believe we are coming together in the
art of making a difference for each other and that the future will bring an increase
in the positive development in studying and being human as well as the technological
breakthroughs we are currently seeing. Another series is about what's wrong out
there and other works speak to observations especially of travels to other cultures
and vistas. My philosophy for my art and the world is to create joy, sharing,
abundance, light, and knowledge on the planet…