Vacuum #5, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum

drawing, exhibition install, figurative, self portrait, studio photograph

2008-2011

The "Vacuum" series humors society's fascination with violence, death and insanity. In these drawings, I create a tortured persona in order to embody the stereotype of the tragic artist. I exaggerate the characteristics of the crazy, unstable, melancholic artist in order to question its glorification and validity.

The clear plastic bag also serves as a technical challenge. Shine and smoothness dissolve into distressed, scratchy marks.

Vacuum #5, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #5, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Studio, Madison, WI, 2008

Studio, Madison, WI, 2008

Vacuum #10, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #10, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #10 at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, 2011

Vacuum #10 at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, 2011

Vacuum #1, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #1, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #2, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #2, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #4, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #4, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #6, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #6, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #8, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Vacuum #8, Graphite on paper, 50 x 38 inches

Basement Studio, Madison, WI, 2008

Basement Studio, Madison, WI, 2008

Vacuum, Installed at  the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, 2011

Vacuum, Installed at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, 2011