Views

The series started as an exploration of the spirit. I was simultaneously taken by the adage “eyes as windows to the soul” and a desire to work with bodies and landscapes. As is typical, the art began to grow and develop on its own, expanding far beyond initial thoughts of exposing even just a portion of the human spirit.

As the first collection began to take shape, a distinct visual language began to form. The subjects, images of nude men taken from tumblrs, Reddits, and other gay pornography sharing sites, echo the objectification of human beings and the sexualization of anything labeled Queer. These found, hand and digitally rendered images are used throughout the collections. The eroticized gaze carries into the landscapes. Power lines, street lights, and wind generators echo the commodification of humanity yet simultaneously celebrate the beauty of energy and connection.

The beautiful-ugly that characterizes Los Angeles is found throughout the collection, even when the themes drift farther afield than the local area. While Views II explores the nation – and to some extent the globe – it is still centrally a product of the City of Angels, which is home to multitudes but native to few.

Again in the second collection, male figures are central to the subject. They were cut from the pages of a 1963 Reader’s Digest world atlas, with a specific focus on the regions of the United States. Each is mounted on hand made, Nepalese papers. The bright paper and metallic prints make a striking foil to the muted and aged tones of the atlas pages.

The third collection returns to paintings with acrylic ink and mounted, hand-printed and cut, sharpie narratives. The point/counterpoint juxtaposition, through both mirrored and complimentary pieces, creates a jumble of language and meaning while still exploring the exploitative effects of perception.

Language is a driving force of the collection, as it shapes our perception of reality. Word-use changes the context of each image, providing opportunities to gain insight from unique perspectives. Moving from predatory to innocent exchange, the text creates movement within each image, reconstructing meaning (as we each must do in our daily lives) from a deconstructed reality.

Views IV is an emotional and digital exploration of commodification using photography, digital collage, and color as modes of expression. The nine-piece set explores various world-‘views’ through figurative line-drawings. Unnatural color effects and iPhone pixelations remind viewers of our own natural ability to shape reality through perception.

The fourth collection is printed on metal in limited release.

Views V is an atlas of narcissism comprised of digitally printed cut-outs of men from the site Guys With iPhones. Pattern and shape play foil to anonymity of the context, simultaneously concealing and revealing the hyper-sexualized affects of consumerism within a contemporary palette. The collection is meant to be shared on smartphones but is also available in individual or collected prints.