Explaining My Work: Seeing Beyond

A continuation of my posts trying to give you a glimpse into why I make what I make, and what I think it means. I wrote about this piece before, but felt I should expand on it.

Seeing Beyond
Glass, Paint, LED

24”x30”x4”

I want to give you a sense of the arch of my feelings toward this imagery. I love locks. Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by locks. Padlocks, key locks, combination locks, door locks, they all fascinated me. When I worked in theatre, I was always pleased that we used old fashioned and historic antique locks for trunks and doors and chains. The shapes seemed to tell a story of the preciousness of what it was protection, or the strength which which it did it's job. A lock is a puzzle, for which there is, if you can find the key, an answer.

I began using locks in my paintwork, really for as long as I can remember. When I began working in glass this was an early piece that I used the lock imagery.

Doubt
Glass, Concrete, Paint
42"x13"
2009

 I was thinking about things that hold us back. The obstacles we face in life, the things we must break free from. With this piece I wanted to lead the viewer toward a psychological understanding of obstacles and titled the piece "Doubt". Our doubt holding us back. I used the imagery for a number of pieces, exploring how to express this idea of locks holding back our growth. This was a suite of 3 pieces which starting with Doubt, also included an outside aid -Path of the Boatman, and a resolution- Both Shores.

My next series included the imagery of Goggles that I've revisited for Seeing Beyond. I first used goggles in science class in school. And for swimming, and I think I even had some for sledding. I used goggles in college when i learned oxyacetylene welding and steel cutting. I even bought a pair of goggle sunglasses back in the 90's when i thought i was a bit cool.  They were at least good for raves and waterslides. 

I created a lot of paintings with figures wearing goggles. a lot of those never made the jump from slides to digital files so may be lost forever... but the image to the left was the first time I used goggles in glass.
It's a retelling of the story of Prometheus. The story of Prometheus has been a huge part of my artwork for a long time and something I've thought about since I first read Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in High School.  In this piece, I use the goggles to represent Victor Frankenstein, the scientist, or Prometheus in his capacity to think creatively and problem solve. This also goes into why I use lightbulbs so frequently in my work

So, onward to 2013 and Seeing Beyond, which i initially posted here