The statement below, written and re-written between 2003 and 2006, was the first statement I actually believed. It references a body of sculptural work made from 1994 till 2006. Although my work has shifted away from sculpture (at least for now) I find many of the core ideas remain true and pertinent to more recent work:
Our days blend together and it is often difficult to see the broader cumulative effects of our daily labors. We tend to focus on the needs of the moment, the day or the week. Only after stepping back are we able to see the concrete achievements resulting from our perseverance.
At the core of my work is an attempt to celebrate and memorialize the under-appreciated relevance and beauty of our everyday labors. Visually this is accomplished via the work’s innumerous small units or layers. Singularly these units, like our routine daily tasks, are simple and meaningless. But the accumulation of these smaller parts into a larger whole transcends their seeming insignificance. Viewed in the aggregate, they are transformed into something greater than the singular parts, something higher in meaning and potential. The final work, an accumulation of these small moments, stands as a testament and monument to our everyday efforts and routines.
The materials I utilize are integral to this theme, frequently being ordinary items I find and recycle. Through labor intensive processes requiring daily toil, these prosaic materials, whose potential value has been dismissed, are infused with newfound merit and stature. Toil thus becomes a critical component, serving to reinforce the central theme as well as authenticate the work’s value. This transformation of discarded materials into something that rises above the status of refuse and is on some level beautiful is the ultimate affirmation of the grace of our daily endeavors.