Artist’s Statement
Nietzsche believed that the perfect balance of Apollonian and Dionysian impulses must be achieved and maintained in order for the whole of humanity to understand the intrinsic meaning of life. He also said that artists should reflect and maintain the balance between the two impulses in order to create real art, or the best art. Over the past few years, my work has been about peeling back the masks society wears in order to fit a certain mold or ideology. In my work, I deconstruct the labels and stereotypes, trying to find the truth beneath the masks we wear because of societal norms and pressures, as well as those ideas society forces upon social outcasts. I dissect the duality of man, by exposing the rigidity of the Apollonian and the primordial Dionysian impulses and forcing the viewer to examine his own dual natures. These themes are often addressed through monoprints, a set of prints with one or two common elements and the incorporation of other medias to elucidate the idea of multiformity whinin ourselves and our society. Often the same face is printed with different quotes, hand written or stenciled, and different found objects and ephemera are included to interperet the idea of “mask.” Even the process of my work is an exploration of the Apollonian/Dionysian impulses, as monoprinting brings spontaneity to the rather rigid set of rules of traditional printmaking.
Side Note
I have a fascination with the psychology of the mental stability of sociopaths and people displaying characteristics of antisocial behavior disorder. Especially Serial and Mass Murders. Every child exhibits sociopathic behaviors, which suggests that the mental illness is natural, hereditary, or instinctive. However, not every child tortures, abuses, mutilates or murders- supporting the theory that a nurturing and structured support system and environment can subjugate or eliminate the abnormal conduct. In some pieces, I attempt to visually represent the nature versus nurture debate in the development of the dark and twisted minds of serial killers.
