Reality Check

After carefully selecting bits of wire, strips of plastic, and a few oddities to photograph for this new series I placed them all on an old wax paper palette. The paint on the paper had completely dried, but you could still see the random brush strokes. Those intriguing expressionistic marks were even more visible when I placed the paper on a light pad and tossed the snippets of wire, plastic and other found remnants on top. The contrast between the paint marks and the objects created the distinctive moody atmospheric image I was hoping for … so I photographed it, moved the objects about, photographed it again and repeated that process several times. All of the objects were non-representational save one. That one iconic image was printed on part of a thin sticky plastic bag so when I moved everything about in search of visceral compositions, it didn’t move much. The visual relationship between it and all the other objects is what suggested the title for the Series. Traditionally, one gives oneself a ‘reality check’ to validate oneself and to clarify or correct a misconception. Doing so is an important aspect of life. Especially in today’s world of virtual hallucinations, fake news and political repression. It can further serve as an opportunity to discover the true subject any representational image may be used to symbolize. The particular representational image used in this series has long embodied humanities idea of freedom. However, its apparent bobbin’ and weavin’ about in these images suggest that its liberty is being challenged … or at the very least, tested. From an art point of view, this Series appears to be drawn. That is to say, the linear aspect of each composition looks as though it had been created with pen and ink not constructed of wire and assorted scraps. Not being able to immediately identify how the images were created fits the idiosyncratic theme of the Series and I like that. However, the carefree days of art as a bright pursuit maybe drawing to a close for neo-Fascist politics has an agenda hostile to free creative expression and progressive dissent. These folks would be delighted to replace creative intellectual artists with an uninformed boorish mob. I suspect that Reality Check is the first of several political series I will create in the coming months and years. Note: each photo I create is limited to ten archival pigment prints per size, signed and numbered verso.