Defining the Lay of the Land: A Topographic Study
Topography… “the arrangement of the natural and artificial… features of an area” (oxford languages).
Topography defines the artistic focus.
The artist is the topographer and the art… is a map.
The hills, mountains, and valleys are physical features, but they are also more.
They are subtle curves carved in wood.
They are the rings of a tree, the bands of grain running through a piece of lumber, and more…
They are tried ideas, customs, cultures, ideals, ways of life, and people.
Topography… “the arrangement of the natural and artificial… features of an area” (oxford languages).
Topography defines the artistic focus.
The artist is the topographer and the art… is a map.
The hills, mountains, and valleys are physical features, but they are also more.
They are subtle curves carved in wood.
They are the rings of a tree, the bands of grain running through a piece of lumber, and more…
They are tried ideas, customs, cultures, ideals, ways of life, and people.
The maps to… are broader.
The artist’s maps like the features being plotted are transient, non-linear, complex, and paradoxical.
They are the lines, veins, patterns and patches of graphite on paper which are alone nothing, but together are comprehensive.
They are the creation and terraforming of material, the forming of anatomy hewn from wood, the creation of skin from cellulose.
They are the accumulation of marks on paper which become a form.
The artist’s maps like the features being plotted are transient, non-linear, complex, and paradoxical.
They are the lines, veins, patterns and patches of graphite on paper which are alone nothing, but together are comprehensive.
They are the creation and terraforming of material, the forming of anatomy hewn from wood, the creation of skin from cellulose.
They are the accumulation of marks on paper which become a form.
The artist must be vigilant for the landscape is always changing.
What is there at one point may be gone at another.
Many of the features: people, ideas, objects, and landmarks are bound to disappear, but leave a mark… an index, a scratch… a marker, an idea, an echo of something before.
What is there at one point may be gone at another.
Many of the features: people, ideas, objects, and landmarks are bound to disappear, but leave a mark… an index, a scratch… a marker, an idea, an echo of something before.
The artist must perceive nuances and carefully note their position, not only in physical space, but also in time.
Like a record being played by a needle, every mountain and every valley is both set in a specific locality and time.
The art… the topography… grapples with the artist’s positioning in relation to the landscape.
Wood grain, paper texture, the accruing of graphite, the depositing of silver these are markers of topographical specificity.
Like a record being played by a needle, every mountain and every valley is both set in a specific locality and time.
The art… the topography… grapples with the artist’s positioning in relation to the landscape.
Wood grain, paper texture, the accruing of graphite, the depositing of silver these are markers of topographical specificity.
The piece becomes a cityscape, a grid, a movement, something indictive of the greater.
The careful plowing of metal through wood, the severance of grain, the removal of layers… un-earth history and topography.
The careful plowing of metal through wood, the severance of grain, the removal of layers… un-earth history and topography.
Traditional, urban, modern, old fashion, outdated… these are some of the accepted set of topographical markers available, yet insufficient.
Nothing is too outdated, old, or out of favor for the artist.
Instead these components contribute to the landscape.
The old piece of film stashed away, the axe with a rotted handle, the rusty chisels in the back of a drawer… they have something to add… their own understanding of history and space which is unearthed through the artist’s hand.
Nothing is too outdated, old, or out of favor for the artist.
Instead these components contribute to the landscape.
The old piece of film stashed away, the axe with a rotted handle, the rusty chisels in the back of a drawer… they have something to add… their own understanding of history and space which is unearthed through the artist’s hand.
The artist seeks to more precisely understand.
Whether it is a tool, a movement, an ideal, a building, or a vista… the artist strives to understand its unique topographic position amongst its lineage and descendants.
Whether it is a tool, a movement, an ideal, a building, or a vista… the artist strives to understand its unique topographic position amongst its lineage and descendants.
The map connects these ideas… times, places, and objects though physical medium.
Physical experiences, studies, and ponderance binds these concepts together into art.
Traditional methods of working, slow and methodical applications of graphite and charcoal, the action of hammering, of gouging, of chiseling and of hewing imbue my materials with topography.
Wooden ears, chemical photography, film projections, graphite and charcoal drawings these are the artists maps.
This finished art brings new meaning and perspective to the landscape through contextualization… adding specificity through human connection, and spatial temporal grounding.
Physical experiences, studies, and ponderance binds these concepts together into art.
Traditional methods of working, slow and methodical applications of graphite and charcoal, the action of hammering, of gouging, of chiseling and of hewing imbue my materials with topography.
Wooden ears, chemical photography, film projections, graphite and charcoal drawings these are the artists maps.
This finished art brings new meaning and perspective to the landscape through contextualization… adding specificity through human connection, and spatial temporal grounding.