Many people have asked for more information about some of the work posted on this blog under the heading of "XTRMNTR", so I thought I would include my statement about that particular body of work.
XTRMNTR Artist Statement
During the past several years, a great deal of my work has been an exploration of psychology, history and narrative practices. Much of my recent work has been concerned with the effects of time and place on the psychology of the individual. It is this combination of psychology, history, narrative, time, and place that have converged to create the XTRMNTR series - an investigation into a distinct time and place – the soldier in wartime. Through research and discussion with veterans from World War II to the current war in Iraq I have attempted to better understand the impact on the personage of being removed from the everyday realities of American life and displaced into a war zone situation. This displacement is not only from their everyday life, but a displacement from their notions of time and location as well.
When an individual is stationed “overseas” (or wherever the war zone is) an odd form of stasis becomes evident. “Time” does not continue to exist for the soldier – back at home children are born and grow, buildings are constructed and demolished, etc. – yet the soldier inhabits a space “out of time”, an unreality of waiting. Time goes on elsewhere, but in the desert, or jungle, or trench, the individual remains locked in a state of suspension, a position outside the boundaries of time, and thus, their perceived reality. Years, months, days, hours, and seconds do not hold a tangible authenticity to the displaced individual – time can only be defined by how long it will take until the person can return home. The seemingly endless repetition of similar imagery was intended to reinforce this ideal. The figure is staged in a “nonplace”; an unidentifiable location, which could be seen as anywhere and nowhere simultaneously.
It is not my intention to present any type of commentary on our current political situation. The XTRMNTR series for me is about psychology, not politics.
During the past several years, a great deal of my work has been an exploration of psychology, history and narrative practices. Much of my recent work has been concerned with the effects of time and place on the psychology of the individual. It is this combination of psychology, history, narrative, time, and place that have converged to create the XTRMNTR series - an investigation into a distinct time and place – the soldier in wartime. Through research and discussion with veterans from World War II to the current war in Iraq I have attempted to better understand the impact on the personage of being removed from the everyday realities of American life and displaced into a war zone situation. This displacement is not only from their everyday life, but a displacement from their notions of time and location as well.
When an individual is stationed “overseas” (or wherever the war zone is) an odd form of stasis becomes evident. “Time” does not continue to exist for the soldier – back at home children are born and grow, buildings are constructed and demolished, etc. – yet the soldier inhabits a space “out of time”, an unreality of waiting. Time goes on elsewhere, but in the desert, or jungle, or trench, the individual remains locked in a state of suspension, a position outside the boundaries of time, and thus, their perceived reality. Years, months, days, hours, and seconds do not hold a tangible authenticity to the displaced individual – time can only be defined by how long it will take until the person can return home. The seemingly endless repetition of similar imagery was intended to reinforce this ideal. The figure is staged in a “nonplace”; an unidentifiable location, which could be seen as anywhere and nowhere simultaneously.
It is not my intention to present any type of commentary on our current political situation. The XTRMNTR series for me is about psychology, not politics.
