It is the ever-increasing familiarity and dependence on domestic objects and appliances that help fuel interest in my artwork. Because of my suburban upbringing and also because of previous artwork of mine that deals with suburbia and repetition, I am interested in the increasing quantity and reproduction of these objects. For example, when an object like a ceiling fan is manufactured over and over again for the masses, the factuality of the fan is reinforced by the amount of similar ceiling fans that existed previously or exist simultaneously. In other words, the more places an object exists, the more it will be considered normal, necessary, and a part of everyday life. Consequently, the demand for the object also most likely increases. I find it intriguing that through repetition, objects develop a so called "truth". These objects are representative of ideals that we hold high, and also of our mortal flaws and blind spots that define who we pretend not to be.
English: Jean Baudrillard in 2005
Photograph of Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain". (Urinal...
Rose Sélavy (Marcel Duchamp). 1921. Photograph by...It is my intention to challenge the "actuality" of the familiar object.
I have chosen to relate my writing and artwork to a few philosophers, critics, and artists that deal with the concepts of the domestic or familiar object. Robert Gober's sculpture consists partly of hand-made domestic items whose "normal" functions have been questioned, altered and repositioned. Jeff Koons, also a sculptor, has produced works that deal with consumer's choices in household items and the class structure they represent. Marcel Duchamp and other Surrealists and Dadaists, with their innovative use of the found and familiar object also have places in this category because of their use of implied function or dysfunction. Jean Baudrillard has written a book entitled Simulacra and Simulation, which addresses our understanding of the "real" in terms of objects and icons. I will also discuss the...