Artist Statement
My art is not so much a single act of purposeful creation as an evolution that emerges from subconscious unarticulated values, believes, desires, and life experiences. My medium is causally accumulated discardable household objects. That a piece has a theme often does not emerge until after layer upon layer there is a recognition that the various elements in the construction have a commonality or relatedness that creates the whole.
About A polar bear adjust to global warming as a spotted owl and two mutated chickens look on
My Earth Day art contributions, A polar bear adjust to global warming as a spotted owl and two mutated chickens look on, began as just an old painted clay pot in which I had put a cutting of Aloe Vera and placed in a kitchen window seal. I have always kept Aloe Vera in my kitchen. It is a miracle cure for burns. Just break a piece and rub the sap on a burn and it immediately stops the pain and prevents blisters. The pot sat on my window seal and the cutting grew for some years.
The next addition was the polar bear which I purchased at Dollar Tree to amuse a loved one who is mentally disabled and at the time found a child-like delight in the simplest of things. After my loved one had enjoyed the polar bear, I simply placed it in the Aloe Vera pot without a motivation. However, I was struck by the combination and juxtaposition of the succulent plant species which grows wild in tropical climates and the figurine of an arctic polar bear. Still, the piece was not recognized as a unitary composition.
The next addition was the owl which came in a gift of arranged flowers. Being one who hates to throw out usable things even when I no longer need them, I simply causally stuck it in the Aloe Vera plant pot. It seemed to fit. It was then that I recalled the notoriety of the "spotted" owl popularized by former senator and environmentalist Al Gore. I then began thinking of the owl as a "spotted owl" and the piece as a unitary composition. The "mutated chickens" had been sitting on top of a kitchen cabinet. Originally purchased as a gift that was never given, some of the set had been broken. Rather than throw them out, I incorporated them into the piece. They seemed to fit.
A problem with creating art in this fashion is deciding when a piece is complete. Traditional artist using more conventional mediums however, and others engaged in creative arts such a literary writers sometimes have the same problem and will continue to cut and add and repaint or rewrite until at some point they must decide a work is complete. This piece also had another element which I have since deleted. Also, for a while, I thought the piece said more without the mutated chickens. I debated removing the chickens and simply calling the piece, A polar bear adjust to global warming as a spotted own looks on, but eventually decided to keep the chicken component.
While the piece is obviously a reflection on global warming, I leave it up to the viewer to interpret the message of the composition for himself.
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