Infected

If a tree fall's in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

By the law's of physics, yes; By the doctrines of art, no. Observation makes art. Humanity's ability to declare the object, the act, as something special is what makes us artists. If the act of perceiving something as art makes it art, then the context the surrounding the viewer dictates the meaning. A broken marriage, a passed love one or a global pandemic all change how we hear the tree falling. Context dictates perception and perception dictates meaning.

This work started as a experiment in materialism. Showing off the material as a vessel itself, I took chunky, thick slabs of terracotta and loosely bound them into a form. The porous sponge like walls became a carrier for protozoic organisms. Together they bloomed and blemished my work with green algae, brown molds and invisible bacteria. No longer is this an experiment in materials but a carrier for terracotta-based pathogens. I have to view it like that. Living organisms slowly devour this unfused piece of quartz in a weak bath of oxalic acid. This work, no longer a pot but an infected specimen, context dictates it.

It's weird living in a pandemic. Brief moments of normalcy are punctuated by unsettling instances of our brave new world. The burning smell of chlorine cleaners, the parched sight of alcohol dried hands and the muffled sound of masked breathing whiplash me back into this global event.

Six foot areas of social distancing, un-trusting eyes of strangers, its the small things that get to me.

Things I can't unsee.

Updates I cant ignore

Artworks I can't re-imagine.

Meaning I can't find.

Context I can't dictate.

An event I'm struggling to grip and a paragraph I struggling to end. I needed to write this, I know it's not positive, it's what on my mind. This post is not succinct, nor with a clear message, it's clouded and confused. This has little to do with a terracotta pot, it's a lot to do with me and you. This post is an acknowledgment to the elephant in the room, it may not be what's needed, but context dictates it.