In a post-postmodern
world, I sometimes worry broadly that visual art has taken a turn for the
worse. I wonder if this stems
from the over-intellectualization of art. Perhaps Charles Bukowski,
infamous pen-holder to
personal experience, said it
best, “An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a
simple way.” Is this becoming
less and less the case? Are we moving away from communicating
empathically, vulnerably, replacing modes of feeling in favor of making
ironic intellectual statements? I worry about a culture that operates primarily in the latter
mode. I know far too many
non-artists who, given the chance, would spend all day at the Louvre but
remain uninterested in contemporary art spaces, having been burned by
overly vague intellectualism in the past. I blame us artists — with no
feigning of personal innocence — for making these unwelcoming spaces in
the first place. Our inquiries
are able to generate much more meaning with broader participation.
My work and research
stem from the knowledge that personal experience functions as a microcosm
of culture. Our experiences
serve to reinforce or challenge a contemporary cultural mythology that can
be harmful if left unexamined as “myth.” My practice is always in transition,
as I grow increasingly interested in investigating alternative modes of
engagement, of communicating accessibly. Writing has become a critical part
of my practice, as it is through words that some audiences gain initial
confidence in their ability to digest visual works. Fear of vulnerability causes me to
embrace it in my artwork as a means through which to connect to my
viewer. The hope is that this
sometimes-terrifying openness might somehow help us to reach an intimate
new awareness of the previously unexamined.
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