ARTIST'S STATEMENT [300 words]

My work explores how seemingly independent phenomena are, upon analysis, actually interdependent with their environments. I portray this interdependence by creating works that do not function unless viewers actively engage with them—by touching, breathing, moving, etc.—so that viewers are essential to the work’s existence as art. Furthermore, although the works involve significant technological infrastructure, viewers’ experiences typically occur in the realm of human-to-human interactions.

My artistic process is rooted in lessons learned from experimental film and animation. The frame-by-frame creation of movement is based on an understanding that even a thirtieth of a second can change the perceptual and emotional impact of a cinematic moment. I apply a similar methodology in creating time-based interactions among humans and technology. My artistic vocabulary is comprised of the subtle changes in timing that unfold as projections or mechanical objects react to viewers. These changes in timing are encoded not as frames of film, but as computer instructions that constantly reinterpret and update the temporal conditions of the work.

My aesthetic practice is a combination of minimalism with the principles of phenomenology – the philosophy of how the body “thinks” through unmediated perception, rather than through reason and language. This approach rewards viewers with an immediate, visceral sense of presence, while simultaneously inducing them to understand the conceptual motivation and meaning behind the work.

My interests in phenomenology and minimalism reflect several of my artistic influences. Foremost are experimental filmmakers like Len Lye, who create direct cinema by scratching and marking celluloid film directly with his body. Second are minimalist environmental artists such as Robert Irwin and James Turrell, who explore how subtle changes in an environment can make deep impressions on the viewer. My work continues in these traditions by constructing environments that directly and meaningfully react to viewers’ presence and engagement.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT [200 words]

My work explores how seemingly independent phenomena are, upon analysis, actually interdependent with their environments. I portray this interdependence by creating works that do not function unless viewers actively engage with them—by touching, breathing, moving, etc.—so that viewers are essential to the work’s existence as art. Furthermore, although the works involve significant technological infrastructure, viewers’ experiences typically occur in the realm of human-to-human interactions.

My aesthetic practice is a combination of minimalism with the principles of phenomenology – the philosophy of how the body “thinks” through unmediated perception, rather than through reason and language. This approach rewards viewers with an immediate, visceral sense of presence, while simultaneously inducing them to understand the conceptual motivation and meaning behind the work.

My interests in phenomenology and minimalism reflect several of my artistic influences. Foremost are experimental filmmakers like Len Lye, who create direct cinema by scratching and marking celluloid film directly with his body. Second are minimalist environmental artists such as Robert Irwin and James Turrell, who explore how subtle changes in an environment can make deep impressions on the viewer. My work continues in these traditions by constructing environments that directly and meaningfully react to viewers’ presence and engagement.