Two of my pieces are included in the “Organic Destruction” exhibit at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore from today till May 29.
It’s a compelling title — “Organic Destruction” — playing off human interaction with Nature: Both how human activity seems to destroy much of Nature, how Nature destroys human creation — and what interplay there may be between the two.
The pieces were chosen by curator Thomas James and after a time — and doing more work on the second — the wisdom of the choices became apparent to me. They are in a sense, related. Similar in size, they are both uniformly applied acrylic spray layerings. "Outside In" is done on one of the most ethereal natural substances, snow; while "Purpose" is done on a hard, highly "artificial" object.
"Outside In"
2019
36 x 24 inches
acrylic on canvas, with snow visibly absent
$6,000
The piece is made outdoors with quintessentially "outside" material -- snow -- but is made to be shown inside. It gives a sense of portraying a distant planet -- or your own insides. The title is also an allusion to the animated Pixar film "Inside Out", which deals with emotional issues felt by a girl, exhibiting the capacity of major US corporations to produce content that prods into psychological issues. Here, the snow "breakup" technique is a metaphor for emotional release, a letting go, or landslide. We understand the "outside world" while we are materially made of it. The use of organic material and processes is in strong contrast to Pixar's use of artificial "unreal" computer graphics, though "Outside In" is "animated" in that it features vibrant colors and depicts motion.
"Purpose of the Petroleum Age: Bessie’s Bosom" (detail)
Completed 2021
31 x 23 inches
acrylic on car radiator with samaras and spider webs
$2,500
This piece is made from the failed radiator of an old car nicknamed “Bessie”. It is the "purpose of the petroleum age” in that it not only is made from an auto part, but with acrylic paint -- plastic derived from petroleum product. Most of the colors used are either of “Bessie” or a female breast, playing with the tendency of people to form an intimate bond with their automobiles. Visible are circles (wheels) and some areola-looking elements. Samaras in the piece allude to flora such as leaves getting under the hood of a car. Ultimately, the car, and what it symbolizes, will fail and Nature will work its way in and get the last laugh. Indeed, while the piece is made from an artificial object (a radiator) having an artificial substance (acrylic spray paint) and an artificial process (sanding down) repeatedly applied to it -- its final form has distinctly "organic looking" detailing to it, viewable with a microscope.