Inner Reflections

A Master’s Exhibition of Sculpture

A photograph is the reflection of a moment of visible reality, frozen in time, on a piece of thin emulsion. The spark of intuitive synthesis is a moment of invisible reality. It is the instantaneous melding of previously diverse prenotions, into something new, uniques, and of more value that the sum of the parts. That spark reveals itself in the form of images.

My work is an attempt at three-dimensional “photography” of these analogous images, as it is a fixed reflection of my creative thought process. The essence of that reflection is visual metaphor, which comments about various human attributes, characteristics, and conditions, within a sculptural format.

I use “mixed media” as the material for these visual metaphors. These consist of combinations of discarded “readymades” (manufactured items), natural forms, and self-constructed forms. The various shapes of these “found” items act as a catalyst to the process of intuitive synthesis, initiating the construction. A chain reaction occurs, as one spark leads to another. I fit them together (altering them as necessary), until the final flash has occurred, and the metamorphosis is complete.

Meanwhile, the entire process is affected by my conscious understanding of the art tradition. The rules of design, compostion and color, the historical concerns of art, and my awareness of other sculptural activity (both past and present), are an intrinsic part of this conscious system. An example of this system at work (albeit, a rudimentary one), is my decision to use “mixed media,” as an historically accessible material.

I trace the liveage of moden “mixed media” to the Dada movement of the 1900’s. It seems to me that the first possible applicable spark of its development could be the result of a marriage between Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” and the three-dimensional “collages” of the Dadaists, like Max Ernst. That is to say, that subsequent to the Dada movement, artists were influenced by both of these aaspects, as many a mundane image became accessible to the artist, as progeny of Dada. And, of course, many a spark followed, such as the elevation of the “found object,” by Rauschenberg with his combines, and Andy Warhol, with his Brillo boxes.

As a result of the evolution of the term “mixed media,” items can be completely synthesized as an intrinsic part of a whole sculptural piece. I see them as not being dependent on the art tradiotion context, as were Duchamp’s “readymades.” Nor is it required that the integrity of the “found object” be maintained, as in Rauschenberg’s “combines.” The objects I used can be stripped of all original function and/or identity, whilst completely transformed within the context of the finished piece. It is that transformation of the material that becomes visual metaphor.

The resultant effect of that transformation is unpredictable, because of the very nature of the process. Vitality and humour become evident, as well as many other associations. As the piece becomes synthesized, in actual, three-dimensional reality, my development, as well as that of my audience, continues to expand.