The following is a poorly written but well-intended statement about my artistic vision. For more authentic writing, take a look at my writing samples.

Statement (What my paintings are all about)

From an early age, people absorb very definitive ideas about the universe. They make mental associations and categorize the relationships between things into an overarching structure of ‘reality’ that is almost never challenged. Those lucky enough to travel extensively (to very foreign countries) and experience the birth pains of culture shock are in fact going through the process of expanding or relinquishing their ideological structure. At the same time, there are countless examples of items in our everyday experience that our minds simply refuse to associate. Things like religious beliefs, fast food restaurants, technological gadgets and popular media pop up daily in a synthesized post-modern experience around us, but for all their geographical nearness, we make no ideological connections between them.

My paintings serve two functions: the first is to break the ideological expectations of the viewer. Seeing familiar symbols or images – particularly ones supported by strong emotional responses – mixed with unfamiliar, base or vulgar scenes or experiences from daily life, momentarily breaks the continuum of assumed beliefs and ideological framework. For a moment, the sky falls, all connections fail, the mind stutters. It’s like shutting down a computer or jamming a paperclip into an electronic circuit. During those briefs moments, where the mind – reaching for familiar ground – stumbles over its failure to associate, there is an opportunity to see things fresh, in a whole new way, without our socially-biased reference systems. The second function of my paintings is to draw attention to relationships between common experiences that exist but are never cognitively recognized; symbols are blended and given equal weight, encouraging viewers to reevaluate their dissociative idiosyncrasies and appreciate the convoluted nuance of globalized society.

Incidentally, I’ve always rebelled against the idea of letting a statement give viewers a supporting paradigm with which to view my paintings. A great painting should have an intimate effect on a person which is completely isolated from the influence of its creator – “painting that has a message is propaganda” I’ve told friends. Not that I’m changing my mind, but I’m beginning to see how the artist’s frame of mind is an important reference for understanding the paintings. After seeing a piece of art, people instinctively want to find out more about the artist. It isn’t an imposition by the artist, only the natural urge to process reaction with more information; therefore I’m going to let readers get to know me on this site by being myself and posting my own appraisals of my work.

And perhaps I’ve misunderstood what art is: although my own concept of art is indistinguishable from Magritte’s philosophical explanations on the meaning of power, mystery and silence, it seems most great artists fall into a clear, historical movement with solid ideological constraints and motivations. I am part of a movement. I can recognize it in other contemporary artists. It is the postmodern conflict of ideologies; it is the lack of any majority narrative; it is the process of de-marginalization wherein the peculiar becomes the champion; it is the modern struggle between science and religion – there is no longer any external cause that rallies nations together, only ideological frameworks and special interest groups.

A more traditional (poetic) statement

My paintings expose my optimistic nature, my dark cynicisms, and my deep spirituality. I am awed at the power in the world, tickled by its implicit joy and angered by the perpetuation of ideological rubbish. Strong beliefs are the electric fences of the world: labeling, distinguishing, separating, condemning. As long as I don’t have them I have no criteria with which to judge others or praise myself. I hope that in toying with sensitive issues I can draw attention to the emotional barricades that define us. I am floating beyond certainty and being romanced by forces with secret motives. I live in constant struggle to make peace between my warring halves, and the canvas is the forum where each side stakes its claim. Inevitably, I am a product of my time, and all I can do is share my vision of the world.