Unfinished Sculptures
These prints are selections from a series called “Unfinished Sculptures”. These works are inspired by recent travels to Rome, a city which is both real and imagined, built on solid stone and marble as much as mythology and belief. Printed on a faux notebook paper in a ball point pen blue, their collective title suggests a tension between the solidness of what they are (sculptures of bronze, marble, wood, bone, and beer cans) and the fact that they remain only plans and dreams, never being fully realized.
This series plays into a larger narrative that attempts to reconcile how our objects define our culture and our history. I revel in the ability to recall or reinvent history in favor of a story that is fluid or incomplete, and find humor useful in creating a playful space to consider my personal and our collective fears, dreams, and anxieties. The challenge that I find rewarding is creating works that are more than a non-sequitur dream state, but a set of moments that respect that we often remain ill-equipped to understand exactly what happened in any lifetime.
Each print is an intaglio print printed on 10"x9.25" paper which was prepared by printing an inkjet facsimile of my note book page.
This series plays into a larger narrative that attempts to reconcile how our objects define our culture and our history. I revel in the ability to recall or reinvent history in favor of a story that is fluid or incomplete, and find humor useful in creating a playful space to consider my personal and our collective fears, dreams, and anxieties. The challenge that I find rewarding is creating works that are more than a non-sequitur dream state, but a set of moments that respect that we often remain ill-equipped to understand exactly what happened in any lifetime.
Each print is an intaglio print printed on 10"x9.25" paper which was prepared by printing an inkjet facsimile of my note book page.
Process
These images are related to a trip to Rome in 2015. Below are a small selection of related photographs and sketchbook drawings that relate to the final etchings. The prints were made upon returning from Rome in the late summer of 2015. I worked with the rule that I wouldn't worry about the exact images, that I had to work quickly and intuitively, ultimately letting the story unfold based on how each of the pieces worked as part of the whole.
These images are related to a trip to Rome in 2015. Below are a small selection of related photographs and sketchbook drawings that relate to the final etchings. The prints were made upon returning from Rome in the late summer of 2015. I worked with the rule that I wouldn't worry about the exact images, that I had to work quickly and intuitively, ultimately letting the story unfold based on how each of the pieces worked as part of the whole.
Related Work
The first time "Unfinished Sculptures" was displayed was in 2015 as part of the solo exhibition "The Plan" at the Wilson Hall Gallery, University of Alabama Huntsville. In addition to "Unfinished Sculptures", the exhibition also included selections from "Future Blueprints", a wheat pasted screenprint piece "Little Giant Still Life", and a plotter cut vinyl piece "Record of a 4th Grade Show and Tell".
"Transcript of a 4th Grade Show and Tell" serves as an entry point to the show, placed on a set of windows outside the gallery, it tells the story of a grandson who has to help his father clean out his grandfather's house after he dies. During the clean up, the grandson goes out to his grandfather's shed, and inside finds a treasure trove of sculptures.
The long form writing looks to tie together the "Unfinished Sculptures", presented as notebook pages, they could be either from the grandfather, or perhaps the grandson. The wheat pasted screen-printed piece "Little Giant Still Life" is a possible link to the workbench found in the shed behind the house, and a reference to the workspaces of my father and grandfathers.
The first time "Unfinished Sculptures" was displayed was in 2015 as part of the solo exhibition "The Plan" at the Wilson Hall Gallery, University of Alabama Huntsville. In addition to "Unfinished Sculptures", the exhibition also included selections from "Future Blueprints", a wheat pasted screenprint piece "Little Giant Still Life", and a plotter cut vinyl piece "Record of a 4th Grade Show and Tell".
"Transcript of a 4th Grade Show and Tell" serves as an entry point to the show, placed on a set of windows outside the gallery, it tells the story of a grandson who has to help his father clean out his grandfather's house after he dies. During the clean up, the grandson goes out to his grandfather's shed, and inside finds a treasure trove of sculptures.
The long form writing looks to tie together the "Unfinished Sculptures", presented as notebook pages, they could be either from the grandfather, or perhaps the grandson. The wheat pasted screen-printed piece "Little Giant Still Life" is a possible link to the workbench found in the shed behind the house, and a reference to the workspaces of my father and grandfathers.
