My art centers itself around the question, “What is a drawing?” Guided by Eastern philosophy and Luce Irigaray’s Elemental Passions, I create site responsive drawings with common materials. Both the Tao Te Ching and the feminist work explore how opposites can be balanced through gender relationships. This is done by yielding to the softer, open ended feminine side of the Tao. Varied lines, tones, shapes, and edges signify male and female in my drawings. They interact in fluctuating states of tension and flow. Moments of stillness and balance occur between genders when diverse elements interconnect and harmonize.
At the core if this investigation is Avis Newman’s idea, a mark is a sign thought. The mark is the primary gesture made in the drawing process. It comes before an image or letter. It is the first attempt of translating an idea onto paper. In my installations and three dimensional works, marks are made with string, tape, moldings, shelving units, and wrapped wire. Works on paper use the more conventional pencil and string. Drawing with materials opens the door to new ways of perceiving and experiencing mark making.
Eastern philosophy creates a pathway into a drawing. The Taoist “flow of things” serves as a guide when mark making. This eastern concept explores how opposites come together and peacefully coexist. In both the Tao Te Ching and Irigaray’s Elemental Passions, flow is achieved by siding with the gentle, expansive feminine force. In my current works on paper, I trace sunlight with line as it moves across a sheet of paper. A linear framework evolves or further response. Diverse marks, tones, and edges are introduced. Male and female aspects of the Tao are suggested through their contrasts. Thick, straight marks yield to fine, fluid ones. Curved shapes merge with angular ones. Fuzzy edges soften hard edges. Multiple shades of gray interweave across the drawing paper. Thread and yarn hang amidst the hand made marks, bringing together second and third dimensions. Opposites ebb and flow over the expanse of paper.
In my three dimensional works and installations, contrasting edges and shapes are interrelated throughout a gallery space. Small scale combinations of three dimensional materials, called conglomerates, converse with a gallery’s larger scale architectural features. They are composed of straight and curved moldings, marks, painted shadows, and shelving units. These structures stand in teetering states of balance, fluctuating between the masculine and feminine. They are placed at fixed points throughout an installation to encourage movement, flow, and pause. Hard and soft edged moldings are placed between different shapes to encourage movement and flow between opposites. Conglomerates change in form and direction during the course of an exhibit to redirect viewers through a gallery.
Marks are worked into conglomerates to relate them to other interventions and a space at large. They transform in shape, thickness, and dimension as they ebb and flow over different surfaces in a gallery. The resulting pathways serve as guides though the installation. Lighting is also recorded in relation to these subjects and space, bringing into play darkness and light. Shadows, in many shades of gray, interplay. Contrasting lines, shapes, and tones form alliances and harmonize.
The Eastern concept of non-hierarchy balances relationships between opposites in my multi-dimensional drawings. In works on paper, even relationships form between the different kinds of shapes, lines, and tones within a real or suggested grid. This allows for causal connections and ongoing dialogues. A similar thing happens in the installations by resting all subjects on the floor. The floor becomes a singular plane, leveling the hierarchy between the diverse materials and dimensions.
Furthermore, I question the role that architectural space can have in defining a drawing. To this end, works on paper are created in response to a gallery space. Dialogues form between the architecture and drawings. Conglomerates are created in response to a gallery space. They are placed at fixed points on a gallery floor to encourage movement, flow, and pause. These structures change in form and direction during the course of an exhibit to redirect viewer’s pathways.
My art seeks to broaden the boundaries of what can be considered drawing. A diverse range of drawing styles emerge as I draw in relation to space; drawing with materials, as performance, and installation. All of these approaches have led to unusual ways of seeing and experiencing drawing.