ADAM and EVE and the iPHONE
After my last show, Solipsism, I explored various subjects as they came to mind. Soon some major themes emerged: the myths of Adam and Eve and others; the portraiture of Holbein; homeless men; war and peace. But the main theme centered on the ubiquitous smartphone.
I have spent over 30 years honing my craft and live in the fear that this art form is fading, eclipsed by modern technology and the plethora of images that inundate our daily lives, courtesy of the smartphone. The addictive nature of this device, optimized to hook the primitive desires of our limbic system, makes them particularly worrisome. It is the sugar and fat equivalent for the mind. In that sense, I can see the connection to the Adam and Eve myth: the phone as the modern serpent.
My concerns around the smartphone echo those I harbored around television, which I explored in my earliest paintings, in particular the cultural effects of isolation and passivity.
Tangent to this, I found myself returning to the memento mori pieces of dead flowers and skulls, perhaps because I have been caretaking my aging Aunt. I don’t think of these works as morbid. On the contrary. I think of them as offering the gifts of gratitude (that I am alive), urgency (that my time is limited), and humility (death as the great equalizer).
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza had me thinking on that subject, too, and that shows up in some still lifes and figure work. Other subjects appear here and there.
Do me a favor and take your time as you view these works. This is three years of probably my greatest effort and I think it deserves your attention. So put down the phone, will you?
js, 2024
I have spent over 30 years honing my craft and live in the fear that this art form is fading, eclipsed by modern technology and the plethora of images that inundate our daily lives, courtesy of the smartphone. The addictive nature of this device, optimized to hook the primitive desires of our limbic system, makes them particularly worrisome. It is the sugar and fat equivalent for the mind. In that sense, I can see the connection to the Adam and Eve myth: the phone as the modern serpent.
My concerns around the smartphone echo those I harbored around television, which I explored in my earliest paintings, in particular the cultural effects of isolation and passivity.
Tangent to this, I found myself returning to the memento mori pieces of dead flowers and skulls, perhaps because I have been caretaking my aging Aunt. I don’t think of these works as morbid. On the contrary. I think of them as offering the gifts of gratitude (that I am alive), urgency (that my time is limited), and humility (death as the great equalizer).
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza had me thinking on that subject, too, and that shows up in some still lifes and figure work. Other subjects appear here and there.
Do me a favor and take your time as you view these works. This is three years of probably my greatest effort and I think it deserves your attention. So put down the phone, will you?
js, 2024
