The Mark

“When the hand goes down… the first step is everything, decisive.” – Arvo Part

This quote not only speaks of determinism, but the essence of the creativity.

 It stands to reason that the creative process is for the most part the act of leaving an imprint of ones self in anticipation of ultimate physical annihilation.

This act is apparent in life in general outside of the aesthetic realm, procreation being the most obvious example.

One could rightly suppose that boredom is a major component in the creative process, so let us examine the nature of boredom.

When an individual is bored, what is actually taking place is a reaction to a type death in the form of an exhaustion of content. The reaction to this mental cooling of energy so to speak is to search for active stimuli or unfamiliar content. An example of this would be the seven year itch or knowing a melody so well (Via modern recording technology) that one cannot bear to remain engaged. The quest for knowledge is another example of this nomadic drive.

With this view in place, I now move towards my reasoning behind working within a narrow framework in terms of my artistic process.

The boredom resulting from repetition within a limited playing field (such as a 2” image area) will in time produce an evolution of the image by way of the human urge to move away from the confines the familiar.

This is an involuntary drive that fluctuates in degrees from one individual to the next and can also change over time due to internal and external conditions.

My mindset is to hold to a rigid format over a life time in order to force a critical push towards unfamiliar territory. The residue left behind in its most basic form will be the mark.

WEB- (winter 2009)

Timeline charts (10,001 hrs.) “My work is an ongoing documentation of the evolution of one image” 

The Timeline charts consist of 1/4″ vertical ink marks drawn onto 5ft x 30ft paper rolls in sequence from top to bottom, left to right.  The gathered data will be used as material for a case study focusing on the progression of the mark. Stop and start times are logged and saved. Designated charts may be destroyed when the project is finished.

The arcade analogy is not simply a case of adding a theatrical element to the process rather it is a direct cultural influence which is embedded in my approach towards work as is the time I spent in a factory setting during my early years.

When positioned in front of the machine (be it in an arcade hall, factory, computer monitor or canvas) the mind moves  through space and time while the body remains locked into position. The subject is placed within the paradox of suspended motion and the primal tension that ensues is steeped in loss aversion. The merging of technology and the primitive was an essential component of the early Arcade experience and it is this hybrid approach that moves through the Timeline project.

 There is a core drive in the mind of the player/artist when engaging in the game and this is the act of racing against time and the preservation of ones immortality.