FUNNEL Medium/Materials: Clay, wood, paint Dimensions: 52” x 18” x 18” (132 x 46 x 46 cm) Year: 2016
漏斗 介质/材料: 黏土，木材，油漆 尺寸: 52英寸x 18英寸x 18英寸（132 x 46 x 46厘米） 年: 2016
Artist Statement: My work explores how advancements in tools and technology have transformed the nature of human interaction. From primitive existence to today's digital age, tools have marked stages in the development of civilization and provide evidence that human beings continue to advance along an evolutionary continuum. Early tools were not only the extension of the human body but also of the mind, serving as a way of existing in and making sense of the physical world. The catalyst behind my sculpture is the belief that the relationship between man and object no longer extends our capabilities, but instead has begun to limit society. Tools born from advanced technology are creating an emotionally alienated society, devoid of direct human contact. Using anonymous male figures, gesture, and tension, my sculpture expresses narratives of the weakening of genuine human interaction. Chosen as the central material for my work, clay represents a raw material connection to the earth; however, when cast into molds and used in repetition, it simultaneously references the flash point of dehumanization through mass production. I therefore merge the feeling of alienation that modern tools have created with nostalgia for a once-empathetic society fueled by human exchange.
Artist Biography: Born in San Jose California in 1961, I began my journey with clay as a High School Student in Beaverton, Oregon. After receiving a football scholarship, I enrolled at Portland State University in Oregon and pursued a degree in ceramic arts. I received my B.S. degree from PSU in 1984 and moved to Philadelphia to start my Masters in Fine Arts degree at Tyler School of Art. That same year, while in Philadelphia, I developed an interest in the pre-industrial tools collected and preserved by Henry Mercer an early 1900’s artisan and archeologist in Doylestown, PA. The concept that tools have marked stages in human development from primitive existence to current levels of technology continues to drive the force behind my ceramic and mixed media sculpture. After graduating in 1986, I taught at numerous colleges before moving to Rochester in 1990. Currently, I am in my twenty eighth year as the head of the Ceramics and Sculpture departments at Nazareth College and teach on both the Graduate and Undergraduate level. My artwork has been exhibited in many group and one-person shows, including solo exhibitions at the Clay Studio and the Snyderman galleries in Philadelphia, Pa. and in Regional art galleries area at the University of Rochester, Roberts Wesleyan, Monroe Community College, Fingerlakes Community College, Main Street Art center in Cliffton Springs, NY and the Saratoga Clay Art Center. Recent group shows include Looking at Ourselves at the Baltimore Clay works, The Clay National in Louisville Kentucky, Craftforms at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne PA. Locally my work can be seen in a permanent installation of three sculptures at the Village Gate Complex in downtown Rochester. My sculpture has been reviewed in Sculpture Magazine, and featured in Ceramics monthly and American Craft magazine. Publications include Making Ceramic Sculpture, by Raul Acero and Hand formed Ceramics by Richard Zakin. In 1991, I received the Evelyn Shapiro grant for ceramic excellence and in 1995 was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award from Nazareth College.
Use Flickriver Badge Creator to create a badge linking to your photos, your group or any other Flickriver view.
You can place your badge on your Flickr profile, Blog or Website.
Add to your iGoogle or Netvibes page
Flickriver widget for iGoogle or Netvibes can display almost any Flickriver view - most interesting today, by user, by group, by tag etc. Once added to your personalized homepage, just edit widget settings to select your desired view.
Clickr on one of the buttons below to install:
Embed on your Web site
To embed this view, Copy and Paste the following HTML code:
Add 'Search on Flickriver' to your browser's search box. Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Install search plugin
"View on Flickriver" Greasemonkey script
A Greasemonkey script that adds Flickriver links to various Flickr photo pages - user photos, favorites, pools etc, allowing to quickly open the corresponding Flickriver view.
Also, allows quickly viewing any Flickr photo on black background in large size.
