Because of Wichita Art Statement

I have decided to post my art statement on the new series I have been working on for sometime now. I am not placing any visuals until May or June. They will be available for viewing during my art opening June 21, 2008. Please keep in mind this statement is copyrighted.

"Because of Wichita"
series
Art Statement



Nearly a million people world-wide die by suicide, annually. The Because of Wichita series brings to the viewer the varying perspectives such as religious thought, mental health, gun control and the value of human life. In turn the residual effects the act leaves behind.




Art is about communicating, first of all, with self and later the listener, the viewer. It is about communicating through emotions in one form or another, reaching out and if successful, connecting with and resonating with-in the viewer.
I want to create this sort of communication by presenting paintings that are open to the viewers entering, engagement and imagination.
I am after a presence that transcends whatever illusion suggests itself, a presence that constitutes the expression of the painting. What the viewer sees', reads, connects with, perhaps recognizes, his or her own meaning, depends on that persons' experiences.


What "effect" means to me is the emotional response to a place, an event, a person; Of course this occurs from whatever is retained with-in me, from experience, observation, perception and/or impression. We are part of nature physically and/or spiritually.


This series is the human form in the truest sense. By using a stark white background, graphite and paint containing human ashes and personal ephemera associated with a suicide.