Artist's Statement
Sitting and thinking and wandering lucidly between teaching gigs and creative practice, I photograph places and things, further developing a personal and political perspective beneath the safelight’s warm red glow. The camera is a pretty good coping mechanism. It keeps me from binging on other easily available and much less healthy forms of media. It’s an ironic, complex weapon of oppression, and a kinky toy of the bourgeoisie, but I use it for practical purposes. It helps me to process and compose something more positive with my negativity. Through it I aim to articulate another aesthetic, often if not always arguing for a better and more informed society. I’d like to use it as a democratic device, disseminating both information and technology. Most recently I’ve been reviewing Susan Sontag’s collection of essays On Photography, on audiobook, on repeat, photographing dollar store items and other objets d’art. I used to collect and fix old bicycles for free redistribution. For years I taught youth and other working class people how to ride and repair their bikes. Now I’m just trying to pursue my own art more seriously, and incorporate it more seamlessly into new examples of education and engagement. I am an artist and educator; just a lifelong learner playfully proselytizing poetry over propaganda, and I’m looking to share what I see.
