Art Statement for Open Studios 2005

I was born in Los Angeles in 1974, attended school in Ann Arbor, Michigan (for English not for Art), did a short stint in Prague, and have lived in San Francisco since 1997. That pretty much sums up where I’ve lived these past 30 some-odd years.

In 2004, I bought a huge roll of silver duct tape after learning that it served as a fantastic foot blister protector. That's not really connected to using it in artwork but does explain how I first got exposed to having rolls of tape around. I began taping the canvas at different stages of a painting, sealing parts while leaving the rest exposed. At the right time, I peel the tape off (in most cases) or add another layer and paint some more.

Over the past year, I’ve focused on what kind of effects I can get out of the various tapes. I’ve expanded from duct tape into shipping tape, electrical tape, and scotch tape. Each type creates a different effect, which you can see if you look very closely.

It’s reminiscent of walls that have been painted over numerous times and then worn through by the weather; old signs that have been covered in stickers and posters, distorted reflections in water surfaces, cracks in painted crosswalks on the street. All of these have movement and time in common, and I’m trying to replicate that in my work.

Now, the second reason I do what I do:

I saw an episode of CSI once where a painting forger was caught because she couldn’t resist the urge to put a tiny symbol in each of her forgeries that would prove to people that she was the one who did the painting instead of the original. After seeing that, I’ve decided to try to make paintings that are impossible to recreate. And because of the randomness of how the tape interacts with the turpentine, I will be amazed if anyone can ever replicate one of my paintings.

Of course, I’d be flattered if someone tried. Well…and highly doubtful anyone ever will.