| // Jul 5, 2008 |
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| Artist Feature by Todd Brooks / Pendu Magazine and Gallery |
1. - Q: When did you first start making artwork? Is there a particular artist or group of artists that really sparked your interest in making art?
A: I have been making art since childhood. But, at eighteen art became an integral part of my daily life after my father‘s sudden death in an automobile accident. That event led me to study the effects of trauma on the lives of artists (especially Outsider artists). Understanding these origins and their relationship to my life continues to act as a catalyst for my art making.
2. - Q: Are you self-taught? Do you feel you had to ‘reinvent the wheel’ on your own to get where you are or are there certain people who have helped guide you along the way? Any important books that you found especially insightful for technique?
A: I have a Masters of Fine Arts in sculpture from Tulane University. Dada, Fluxus, Relational Aesthetics and L’Arte Povera artists have substantial influences on my work.
3. - Q: What keeps you inspired to continue making new work?
A: A flow of ideas that never stops. I am haunted by my creativity. This seems to be a large part of the reason my work is produced quickly and with readily available materials. The concepts need to be produced in one concrete form or another. Giving the idea a physical form is crucial for my continued exploration into my conscious and unconscious realities. My ability to create art that communicates the experience of being alive keeps me inspired.
4. - Q: What themes do you find yourself most attracted to and returning to in your work?
A: Religion, Politics, Sex, Utopian and Dystopian Realities, Childhood Memories, Production and Consumption of Energy.
5. - Q: How much of each piece of your artwork would you consider comes from an intuitive or spontaneous sense of creating and how much is analytical and planned out?
A: This depends on the medium, time, space and concept. Most of my work originates with automatic drawing or writing. Sometimes an idea will remain as concept for years before resurfacing in one way or another as visual art. I also collect wood, paper, fabric, and other debris for producing sculpture objects and installations. These remnants of everyday life are chosen for their visual and conceptual strength. They are often left to the elements for long periods of time, while I consider their use. Photography and video are often more spontaneous processes. Internet art, I consider my entire internet presence NetArt, requires a much more analytical approach.
6. - Q: How important is music to your art? Do you listen to certain music when working? Any particular musicians?
A: Music is important to a positive work environment. Progressive college radio is always fun. Listening to Radiohead is an almost daily occurrence.
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7. - Q: Do you have a favorite cultural critic, philosopher, or psychoanalyst that you enjoy reading/learning from? Has their work directly or indirectly influenced you and if so, in what ways?
A: In my opinion, Nicolas Bourriaud is the most relevant theorist today. Relational Aesthetics is such a promising idea that it seems to have limitless sociological and cultural potential. As early as 1990, my writings show a clear consideration for the audience’s input into the production of art. I differ from Bourriaud’s model in one important sense. My work approaches art making as a way of life accessible to and alterable by anyone. By ritualizing daily life, we give meaning and significance to the most mundane events. This allows one to elevate profane actions to the level of extraordinary. Life becomes mythological.
8. - Q: Who is your favorite young author right now?
A: Not sure about a favorite, I am enjoying “Snow Garden” by Christopher Rice.
9. - Q: Is there a young visual artist right now whose work particularly has your attention?
A: Mounir Fatmi would be one of many. Well he’s my age, but he’s young in the sense that his career is developing presently.
10. - Q: Do you make a living as an artist? If not, and you don't mind sharing, what is your day/night job?
A: I have never depended on art to pay the bills. Teaching assignments and good old-fashioned labor usually keep the bill collectors at bay.
11. - Q: What are your future plans?
A: Thankfully, there is some momentum in the local art community. New Orleans is seeing a “rebirth” in cmany ways. My future will be affected by this more than any plan. I will just keep making art with or without an audience.
12. - Q: Any cryptic messages that you would like to send out to the readers?
A: Art is embedded in our experiences. Artists suggest new relationships between these experiences. We are all artists.
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