A Statement from the Artist
The bulk of these works are primarily inspired by the natural landscape and the geologic and biological processes that shape and color them. The final product, however, is far more than a mere representation of that landscape. The images have been influenced by architecture, music, mythology, psychology, spirituality, and – most importantly – a symbiotic relationship of the natural to the artificial.
To understand the intentions behind many of my pieces, I should mention that I sympathize with the general Native American ideal that the land cannot be “owned” by mankind; we simply use or borrow it. To this end, I also understand that we are a technologically advanced civilization that cannot simply turn back to a simple and natural collective lifestyle. Most of us would not give up our modern conveniences to live a completely natural life, but I hope that we can move towards a symbiotic relationship that is fostered from a mindset similar that of the early Native Americans. I include within my work, the Taoist principle of interconnection and harmony among opposite forces, (symbolized by the yin and the yang) which permeates my conscious depiction of the artificial as futuristic architecture incorporated within a natural, surreal, and almost alien landscape. The structures contained within these natural spaces are drawn from the organic style of Frank Lloyd Wright, who was the first in modern times to understand the relationship between the surrounding land and the building that is created upon that land as an aesthetic quality. With this I hope to symbolize the correlation of the materials in which these artificial structures are made, and the natural setting upon which they are extracted and built. Ancient cultures used stone from nearby quarries to erect their monoliths, pyramids, and temples. By doing so they formed massive tributes to the land and resources that surrounded them.