Time Release – Medical and Pharmaceutical Constructions
Fulginiti Gallery at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, December 2016-February 2017
In my art-making process, I use a variety of commonplace, discarded, quotidian objects combined with traditional art making materials to compose sculptural forms that are subsequently cast, cut, drilled and scraped to reveal the “guts” of the matter. Through this process, I curate selected forms that become-or represent-specific, symbolic codes or grammar that speak to the physical and spiritual concerns of the human condition – specifically, the compulsion to reify and base our life’s concerns on seductive but ultimately ephemeral, transitory experiences and their empty promises of fulfillment.
My work addresses desire and human initiative in light of our [obvious] awareness of our ultimate end – a haunting and relentless companion that hovers over our life’s journey. With this medical and pharmacologically focused body of work, I investigate the conundrum of this reality with various sculptures that symbolize the gravity, pathos and, sometimes, comedic state of the human situation in light of our pursuit of perfect health, freedom from emotional distress, relief from the anxieties inherent in lived experience, and even the possibility of “spiritual” redemption.
Various works throughout “Time Release” symbolize this pursuit, while the shape of the circle or oval, a symbol of unity, wholeness and eternity anchors the formal and conceptual dialogue. Inherent to this exhibition’s title, “Time Release” is an underlying element of storytelling, with pill-like sculptures symbolically representing common threads of our human experience. Aesthetically colorful, shiny and inviting, these pill sculptures seem to call us to “ingest” this solution while sadly – and this is not to ignore the astonishing successes of medical and pharmaceutical advances in alleviating many forms of suffering -these easy solutions are chokingly too big to swallow and often fail to address our deepest issues and yearnings.
“Time Release”, as the title infers, derives its meaning from the profound spiritual and embodied condition which we human beings struggle to fulfill while limited by the passage of time, the inevitable decline of capacity, and our choiceless end. We continue to seek relief from our mortal woes and yet so far no outside intervention, no “miracle drug” can ultimately rescue us. Once again we are thrown back to consider our lives in light of “eternity,” truth or whatever makes for ultimate value. As we continue on this uphill road as reflected in my piece titled “Job’s Lament” we are called to questions of faith in a “salvific” cosmic order – a journey which leads in and out of labyrinthine existential mazes and – if touched by grace – may give deeply nourishing and lasting meaning to our struggles, our joys and sorrows, our deepest yearnings – our life’s journey.
This work is drawn from my personal struggle with depression and my testimonial “rescue” with the use of anti-depressants. There is medicine that can heal. After a life long struggle with sometimes debilitating darkness my life was literally and miraculously changed with a very low dose of this medication. However, I also credit my return to a fully lived life with an intensely dedicated search for spiritual meaning. These experiences along with my new ability to capably engage my life and consistently apply myself to creative work has made me both curious about and inspired to address the intertwined subjects of medicine, art and spirituality.
The amalgamation of such medical materials as shredded documents, cast off prescription bottles, pills and other scientific detritus with art making tools becomes a curious, often abstract assemblage with the history of each deeply embedded in the finished work of art. I explore the inside of the formal and conceptual path of art making, often – a kind of archeological challenge to dig deeper into the matter of the materials I use, the processes of art making and the inner, less physically or product-oriented work of spirituality.
One of my favorite quotes is from the photographer Paul Strand written in 1917.“The true artist, like the true scientist, is a researcher using materials and techniques to dig into the truth and meaning of the world in which she/he lives; and what is created, or better perhaps, brings back, are the objective results of the exploration”.
