GREY OFFICE: 2016

DRAWINGS: Galaxy

night waves
19:6, 36 inches long, oil pastel, 2016

night waves
detail

BRIGHT CENTER-FARTHEST FROM

If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from.

- Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode IV, LucasArts/FOX. 1977

When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.

- Isaac Newton, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principe Mathematica, 1687

Bright Center of the Universe, the Planet Farthest From
18x18 inches, oil pastel, 2016

FUTURES

We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up until now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.

-Max Planck

Staring at a screen, are we looking at the future?

Between the digital static and glow of diodes, do you see a pejorative trend, or a positive one?

These drawings are comprised of primary shapes, squares, circles, and diamonds. In the vein of 70s conceptual artists, who like today, were staring at an ambiguous and contentious future, these shapes straddle the barriers between certainty and uncertainty.

The vicissitude between horizon and fissures is daily motivation; the past (trouble) behind and future (hope) ahead.

In a world that is more certainly not flat, our ability to look to the future has not been enhanced by technology. We still stumble through the darkness, limited by the range of our candle.

future
11x17 inches, oil pastel, 2016

future
detail

future
24x36 inches, oil pastel, 2016

future
11x17 inches, oil pastel, 2016

future
detail

future
24x36 inches, oil pastel, 2016

future

detail

DRAWING: This Too Shall Pass

Walking down the hall one afternoon, there was a moment I observed in which two men were standing on opposite sides of an opening. Both men were leaning casually against the wall and both on cellular phones, deeply engaged in separate conversations, forming an ad hoc symmetry.

My pathway to the office required me to pass between these individuals who stood like the Gates of Argonath, or with less erotic suspense, the gateway by Maria Abromovic.

References aside, there was a palpable tension that stretched between these individuals; their digital connection to the outside, and framing of the hallway suggested that an invisible, but palpable tension stretched across the void.

The drawings here are studies for an ongoing piece on the subject. Titled, 'This too shall pass', the drawing examines the condition posed by these workers. It looks to classical moments in architecture such as the caryatid, where figures frame and entry. Within this framework, the drawing places a cellular phone, which is one of the most temporal items in contemporary culture.

The ubiquity of phones today guarantees nothing in terms of longevity. Within a decade, perhaps two, the mobile phone as we know it is as likely to be a relic, consecrated to memory, much like dial up modems have become.

Figures are attenuated in a classical nude character. Both characters are male, and recline slightly against the edge of the portal.

In the observed event, the portal was a hallway, ten feet wide, and unarticulated by molding or framing. Replicating these conditions was not necessary for the piece, but finding the best proportion for the portal is important. The sketch above illustrates several permutations of the portal.