Folks have asked for years about my earlier art work. As evidenced by #piecesofeight and #everythingbutlenin, most people have realized I'm no fan of nostalgia and therefore it's rare that something I've made finds its way back to INSERT VERB HERE me in the present. Fortunately for those of you that like a little ego-driven lesson in recent American art school history, I came across some photos in an old email account this morning of work I completed (and then destroyed) as a grad student in the Mount Royal program at MICA. I exhibited what's here in my final group show,
A Spectacle and Nothing Strange, a show name suggested by Karl Marxxx and adopted by some of my awesome classmates who I miss dearly(bonus points for anyone who gets this Baltimore literary reference of the show title).
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| Colby with Pom-Pom Bullet, yarn, wire. Hunter, felt, glue. |
I was dissatisfied by the artist-as-brand direction I'd been pushed in
by Frances Barth at Mount Royal(ironic now, I know!), and I threw out
everything I'd made and sat in my bare white walled box with a few
folding chairs as the program director and Grad School director, as well
as the visiting artist faculty, entered for my final critique. My
statement was heard loud and clear. My favorite visiting artist began
to cry while the Director of the Graduate School, Leslie King-Hammond
yelled at me for pulling what she termed "a ridiculous art stunt." But
for me, my art has always been about the process rather than the
product. The best moments in life are when life is actually happening.
Once you reach the money shot, it's all over and time to clean up the
mess.
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| A study for Hunter, felt, glue. A portion of this work was begrudgingly preserved by Karl Marxxx. |
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| Hunter & Colby and my very relaxing white chair! |
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| Holy Ghost, felt, leather, vinyl, glue |
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| Hunter, felt, glue, astroturf |
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| Hunter, Felt, glue, astroturf |
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| Hunter, Felt, glue, Bat! |
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| Bullet (unfinished), yarn, wire |
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| Untitled, Aluminum, Staples |
