Part One
For many years I inhabited a narrative world as a sculptor where my interests in the human condition were presented. My medium was clay or more precisely, Plasticine, a higher form of sculpting material, much like oil is a higher form of painting over water mediums. This form of clay allowed the slower evolution of an idea and opportunity for greater detail to those thoughts. Although my work was frequently referred to as figurative, or even romantic figurative, I always preferred the reference to narration because I felt the essential ingredient was the story, not the form. Classic art to me was about the essential beauty of compositions and forms, while Romantic art captured a nuanced presentation of something to be understood, not just admired. It said something about something, it didn’t just show us something. I have not been on the modernist side of contemporary art. This journey led me to human relationships - with each other, with objects, with animals, nature, and ideas. All my various sculpted collections bound me to people and the gravity of earth.
I admit, with some embarrassment, that I have gotten a bit tired of both people and our earthly problems. Keeping track of the news became too depressing to watch closely, with our decent into more and more outrageous actions by those who I had hoped would elevate our human condition and solve our common problems. Instead, I was watching increased exploitation and division for the purpose of, . . . well, . . . you most likely know where I’m going with that, so I won’t go down that rabbit hole.
I stopped reading art literature some time ago and instead have filled my reading and research time with what’s happening at the forefront of science. The who and how of fixing our relationship with nature, finding the edges of knowledge, then trying to understand how it all fits together, and finally rooting for those explorers and innovators that were aiming for true understanding of how it all works became an obsession. When the James Webb was going online, I was in ecstasy with anticipation.
