Darkness within

This thesis presents an analysis of a body of work that I completed between September 1995 and April 1996. I will discuss the raison detre for the work and the historical touchstones that have influenced my thinking and my style. Aspects of the body of work that show its main technical and thematic currents will be discussed. Finally I will present some details of my method of working and how that method works in consonance with the thematic content of the work. My work is at one time intensely personal and, if executed properly, personal to the viewer as well. This duality forms the paradox that is the heart of my work. Paradox, a fundamental aspect of living (eg. kill for peace), can only be dealt with comprehensively in art. When I talk about my intent for a work, my attempt to stage manage the experience that the viewer will have, I do so with the knowledge that my intent is only one of the valid translations of that piece. If viewing these paintings causes you to encounter yourself, they have succeeded. Much art, of course, is about other art. I have learned a great deal pouring over books of reproductions and tramping through museums. Lucian Freud, in an interview shown at the 1995 retrospective of his work held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said, To me, going to the museum is like going to the doctor. He used the experience to cure some problem he was facing. For me the museums have been more like school. I have, therefore, in the course of this thesis, mentioned some of the shows that I have seen over the last several years that have been important to my artistic development. A central experience has directed my work from quite early in my artistic development. This experience is isolation. It appeared first in a series of small, interiors that I produced at Wright State University. During my graduate studies I have begun to work on a larger scale and my style has become less cool and precise and more expressive. The scale, subject and style combine to provide a more forthright expression of the theme of my work than I have previously achieved