ARTIST STATEMENT
Through my research based practice, I explore my interest in the technological advancement of fabrication methods. By utilizing historical methods of working by hand in combination with contemporary computer aided methods, my work explores the interdependent relationship between the two.
When working by hand, a marker of good craftsmanship is often the lack of evidence of human touch, yet pristine and identical objects produced by machine are usually viewed with less reverence. By obfuscating the viewer’s ability to identify work completed by either method, these sculptures challenge the values we believe to be innate.
From a distance this work appears to be perfectly manufactured. The presumed straight lines and square edges produce a sense of sterility akin to machine-made objects. But up close, the hand of the maker is clearly evident. Each flaw though unintended, purposefully signifies authorship.
These sculptures embody the sense of uncertainty that occurs in the transition between viewing at a distance and viewing up close. As the two-dimensional lines wrap around the transparent volumetric forms, the lines themselves are perceived as floating three- dimensional objects. The creation of ambiguous space leaves the viewer with additional uncertainty about where physical objects begin and end, which spaces are occupied, and which remain empty.
This treatment of space parallels the viewer’s uncertainty when trying to discern the value of these objects based on how they were made. This uncertainty is also found when considering the future of fabrication methods. Too often we equate novelty with efficiency and as time progresses, we allow new technologies to eclipse the old. Having used technologies from antiquity, the Industrial Revolution, and the Technological Revolution in the creation of this work, I have a greater appreciation for the spectrum of efficiency on which they all exist.
When working by hand, a marker of good craftsmanship is often the lack of evidence of human touch, yet pristine and identical objects produced by machine are usually viewed with less reverence. By obfuscating the viewer’s ability to identify work completed by either method, these sculptures challenge the values we believe to be innate.
From a distance this work appears to be perfectly manufactured. The presumed straight lines and square edges produce a sense of sterility akin to machine-made objects. But up close, the hand of the maker is clearly evident. Each flaw though unintended, purposefully signifies authorship.
These sculptures embody the sense of uncertainty that occurs in the transition between viewing at a distance and viewing up close. As the two-dimensional lines wrap around the transparent volumetric forms, the lines themselves are perceived as floating three- dimensional objects. The creation of ambiguous space leaves the viewer with additional uncertainty about where physical objects begin and end, which spaces are occupied, and which remain empty.
This treatment of space parallels the viewer’s uncertainty when trying to discern the value of these objects based on how they were made. This uncertainty is also found when considering the future of fabrication methods. Too often we equate novelty with efficiency and as time progresses, we allow new technologies to eclipse the old. Having used technologies from antiquity, the Industrial Revolution, and the Technological Revolution in the creation of this work, I have a greater appreciation for the spectrum of efficiency on which they all exist.
