Exploring place-based art
A timeline of creative interventions:
From 2014 to 2019 I documented my weekly walks in the city of Portland, Oregon. This practice of quietly observing movement and stillness around me became the Intersections collection. In an attempt to push the boundary of how I perceived these images, I began tracking narrative actions for each location in an experimental map of space and place.
I fell in love with the dark and light contrast of shapes within these images and explored deconstructing them as vector illustrations. Over time I allowed the recognizable elements to devolve into abstract forms. This was the birth of Distal 2020, an experiment in the concept of internal landscapes. Letting go of what grounded my previous work seemed appropriate given the state of the world.
In 2021 I was still searching for ways to expand on this idea. I refer to this process as reflexive experiential modeling; taking an idea and then mirroring it as varied conceptual and physical formats. To inspire a reconstruction of ‘building blocks’, I used shapes from Distal to develop a series of cloning tools. The Autonomous Replication Creativity Catalog (ARCC) is a library of virtual objects that can be borrowed by any artist for use in their own work.
My ongoing interest in observing the interplay of action/response was the basis for an educational project I designed in 2022. Art Interaction Mapping. This creative modeling framework provides a conceptual sandbox for visual artists to conduct experiments in the use of technology as a medium. Published as an open education resource tool, AIM is yet another iterative form of place-based inquiry, providing remote students with a virtual space to collaborate on studio work.
Weaving together these varied threads of creative inquiry has led to new opportunities in public placemaking. My 2023 work in progress is a multimedia installation incorporating mural painting, animated photography, and interpretive design. Waves II Roots is an artistic interpretation of tsunami emergency awareness information to be located in the Noyo Harbor District of Fort Bragg, CA.
