Artist Statement

(above: Portrait of "Woman at Swap Meet")

Today, I tried to put together a new artist's statement with the sound sculpture component added to it. I'm posting it to elicit any comments or recommendations. Any responses on what works, what doesn't, and what it lacks are totally welcome (and will be much appreciated). Here is the draft:

"In my continuing search to understand what it means to be in this world, I have come to the realization that, for me, we live in a world of people--and not a world of places. Ever since then, the work I’ve been doing has come to be an experiencing of this world of people through photography and personal interviews. The art that has come out of this exploration is the multi-media form of the “Human Landscape” done through photographic portraits and sonic sculptures of human sounds.

In the photographic component, I try to present the power of the individual without any adulteration or artificial gloss. They stand towards the camera without being posed, and they stare back at the viewer without a smile or other generic expressions elicited by traditional portraiture. The rest of my photographic process also reacts against the traditional, modernist standards of the medium that I feel severely limit the creativity and expression of the artist. The notions of the perfect print, consistent surface treatment, and idea of the flawless “fine photograph” presented immaculately behind glass is deconstructed. The result is a post-modern approach to photography: images sometimes clear, other times choppy, blurry; the works are composited from smaller prints to form larger pieces glued onto canvas, and are then tacked to the walls without glass protection. The presentation and feeling of the pieces necessarily have to reflect the feeling of the real world in that it has the textures, the flaws, and the accessibility of real lives of real people.

My ongoing project “Our House” is a multi-media exhibition based on photography and sound sculpture. The impetus behind the project is the modeling of the “Human Landscape” as I see it. In addition to the visual, I have added the auditory to form a greater gestalt of the human condition. The aural component consists of a sound sculpture rearranged from the recordings of interviews and other organic vocal sound clips of humanity. Like the photographic imagery, the sound component sculpts the aural with new textures in new auditory contexts, creating for the viewer/listener new ways of seeing, and new ways of listening."