7. Orange Meditations (2004 to the present) |
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Because the art of sculpture possesses the ability to tell culturally significant stories, it has in the past played an eloquent role in the development of human perception. Usurped first by the photograph and then by electronic media, sculpture's role as meaningful image-maker has never been so remote. Digital technology now brings the pain of distant wars and human suffering instantly into our lives. The daily reporting of human carnage and its endless tragedy has challenged me to test whether sculpture can still create meaningful images that demand attention, and that perhaps lead to thoughtful questions and positive change. |
In the works that follow, entitled Orange Studies, I carve stone images based upon a violent moment and its aftermath. Inspired by newspaper and book photographs of anonymous women and innocent children trapped within the destructive carnage of war, these sculptures are both materially beautiful and, I hope, formally compelling. The focus of my most recent work, Orange Fragments, has shifted away from the individual portrait to the inclusion of several images found within a particular photo. Using this same photographic source material, I wish to convey with narrative images, emotional and spatial relationships between the figures within the photos — a complex single sculpture that is both portrait and place. An image that conveys the fact that the violence of war in various, unforeseen ways extends far beyond a confrontation between combatants. |