Expressionism and Me

My work as a whole definitely fits most smoothly into the expressionism theory of art. I do not work to replicate or imitate reality, therefore, realism is ruled out. Meanwhile, I most certainly do have a subject matter and meaning in my work, so formalism is not my cup of tea either. I create artwork to express my emotions and imagination at any given time. I use art as a way to take a snap shot of a specific time in my life, which serves to document my thoughts and curiosities.

The piece below is a piece I created last year out of wire, yarn, wood and wax. When I created this piece, I was very interested in the senses that are employed and aroused during physical interaction between two individuals, namely sex. It is not just a tactile stimulation, but rather, smell, sound, sight, and taste are also induced. This piece is an abstract representation of the varying levels to which each sense is activated, its concave and convex fluctuation are representative of the varying levels of the senses, as they fluctuate during the time of physical interaction. From left to right it is to read as a narrative, much like a graph. I felt that the yarn would be interesting to use as it is very appealing to they eyes, and much softer than harsh wire. I also chose to work with wax directly on bare wood because there is something about wood that reminds me of being naked; it is simple, natural and unveiled. The wax ended up working well because the material itself stimulated the senses. It provided raised areas, inviting the viewer to come and touch, but also had a distinctive smell. My exploration through my stream of thought, and my expression of it is this piece is why I consider myself an expressionistic artist.