"targets and flag": Selection from the series, “Elemental Truths”

Art can be beautiful. Art can be powerful. Art can be socio-political. Art can be a simulation of nature or Art can be an individual artist’s original interpretation of nature. Art can be a record of time, places, people, and events. Art can touch our souls and can change the world. Art can cross boundaries and does have the power to unite us in shared human experiences. Through my series, Elemental Truths, I hope to initially connect with the viewer through familiar recognizable symbols such as targets, letters, numbers, and lines. My historical inspiration is famous Pre-Pop Artist Jasper Johns. Just as Johns utilized iconic and recognizable imagery from popular mass culture, I too have made the choice to utilize some of the same symbols in this series. Jasper Johns is one of my favorite modern American artists not for only being a pioneer into the movement of Pop Art, but also for his use of the ancient painting media of encaustic. I also am intrigued by this process of painting with hot beeswax and resin while using oil paint for pigments. Exploring more sculptural, textural surfaces while using hot beeswax, is an act of painting that allows me immediate access tougher human senses such as touch and smell. Fascinating is the juxtaposition found in using the most ancient form of painting combined with the embedding of contemporary images from magazines,books, and other found objects. Standing before my work, the viewer will initially find their own meaning, depending on things like their age, their politics, their culture, and the environment in which they live. However, my hope is that a few moments will be spent on wondering why they already know and feel what they do and if there exist other ways to expand creative thoughts by becoming even more visually literate through critical thinking about meanings and feelings evoked by Art.