Someday all this will be yours

Title from first page of PDF file (viewed November 19, 2010)Includes bibliographical references (p. 50-51)Sentimentality and disposability present a dichotomy in suburban American culture. As a product of a typical southern Californian neighborhood, I analyze suburban culture in an effort to locate the essence of American behavior. Consumerism drives much of America's economy, whereby possessions become extensions of personality. The promise of individuality is delivered in the form of disposable goods, easily traded in for the new. A byproduct of consumption is household trash. Packaging, food, clothing, household appliances, and even keepsakes are purged daily from our homes. Garbage is an overwhelming reminder of how much we spend and waste. Over-consumption and disposal with little regard for their consequences are the traditions my generation has inherited. Mistakes and problems of the generations before will be ours to deal with, including the massive amount of stuff left behind. I fear the four to seven pounds of trash we throw away every day will be our legacy to the future and those who will inherit the sinister results of this accumulation. My yearning for something that lasts long term led me to the stability of my grandparents. Many of my happiest childhood memories were sharing family meals on china that had been in our family for generations. I have always found security and history in family heirlooms and see how they physically connect us to our elders. Dadaist cultural criticism juxtaposed with a kitschy sentimentality is a common theme in my work. Collage, assemblage, and ready-mades are Dadaist methods of cultural criticism I employ. By interjecting memories of home and family into items for consumption and disposal, I transform them into the equivalent of lost family heirlooms. Much of my work is in a sweet aesthetic that allows me to hide my social comments under the guise of Kitsch. Kitsch is a disposable art form designed for the instant amusement of mass culture until its clever sweetness wears off and it ends up on bric-a-brac shelves at thrift stores nationwide. I reuse and alter these jettisoned ceramics to call attention to their disposability. My goal is to create objects of sentimental familiarity that are undermined by the threat of being easily discarded to urge my viewers to reconsider what they will leave for future generations