Found objects
Marcel DuChamp described taking what he referred to as the ready-made when he said "An ordinary object [could be] elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” The use of found objects here is somewhat different from Duchamp's notion.
In my practice, I study the objects found and interpret them, almost forensically, through my own lens as both an observer and a participant. I contemplate what these objects might have once meant, and how that meaning has changed due to external forces such as fire, a pandemic and technology.
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My home and all the contents were consumed in a house fire in Texas on June 25th, 2015. While the ruins still smoldered, I was compelled to visit the many communities in Ashland, Talent, Medford, and Phoenix, Oregon that were destroyed in the Almeda Fire.
From personal tragedy, I gained a deep appreciation for suffering and devastating loss. I also experienced how fire can galvanize the human spirit to rise again, just as the Phoenix from Greek mythology rose from the ashes.
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Fire!
Steel extinguisher and melted aluminum, painted in clear enamel.
17H x15W in.
This object “FIRE!” was found near a home that perished in the Almeda wildfire. There was nothing left of the house except this fire extinguisher in the rubble, a twisted steel foundation, and layers of acrid ash.
Many people on September 8 had a false sense of security and relied upon local fire department responses with fire hydrants and sirens, personal fire extinguishers and garden hoses, to protect homes in the path of the conflagration.
Fire Frozen
Incinerated spray can in clear melted glass, and melted aluminum painted in enamel and polyurethane on wooden base.
15H x8W x4.5D in.
dif•fer•en•tial dÄf″É™-rÄ•n′shÉ™l, adj.
> Of, relating to, or showing a difference.
> Constituting or making a difference; distinctive
The object entitled “Dif•fer•en•tial” is Steel and aluminum coated in urethane.
25H x 10W x 7D in.
Detail of dif•fer•en•tial
Dif•fer•en•tial shows the magnitude and intensity of fire and leads us to contemplate how we might lessen the impact of global change that a warmer world has on humanity.
Candent
can·â€‹dent | ˈkan-dÉ™nt: glowing from or as if from great heat
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Melted aluminum, steel, glass and fabric, painted in silver enamel.
20H x 11W x18D in.
Candent 2
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Melted aluminum, steel, glass and fabric, painted in silver enamel.
15H x 20W x 18D in.
Silver Lining
Melted aluminum, bondo, glass, resin, and sliver paint.
6.5H x 22W x 6.5D in.
Silver Lining serves as a reminder of all that was lost in the Almeda Fires, with the fragility of an empty glass vessel, and alludes to the path of healing that survivors embrace in recognizing all that we still have.
Innocence Lost
Steel bicycle with blistered paint, coated in polyurethane.
31H x 25W x 18L in.
“Innocence lost” is a small child’s bicycle with tires, seat, handlebars and training wheels incinerated.
This piece shows the vulnerability and the impact on the youngest members of our community - small children with a treasured toy collection or a small bicycle with training wheels such as is seen in this object.
Fires affect individuals, families, friends, communities and entire regions.
Our homes represent a place of safety and familiarity with possessions that we surround ourselves with. Raw statistics don’t help us to appreciate all that is lost when counting numbers of homes destroyed.
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Home represents a place of great strength and also great vulnerability - Innocence Lost is a reminder of that dichotomy.
Too Hot for the Kitchen
Melted aluminum propane gas stove burner, painted in enamel, on wood cutting board.
10H x 7W in.
Last Christmas
Steel, painted with clear polyurethane and melted glass Christmas ornaments.
16.5H x 10W x 2.5D in.
Flame
Composed of soft steel with orange and red oxidation from the intensity of fire, where it’s namesake is derived. It is coated in Urethane.
84H x 24W in.
“Flame” resulted from a fire that transfigured ordinary chrome plated shelving with hard and linear lines into an organic, flowing shape that emulates movement and spirals upward, suggesting the dense columns of smoke that filled the Rogue Valley and that then spread across the entire United States.
“Flame” also suggests the skeletal remains of a fish. It illustrates the impact of uncontrolled mega-fires that contribute to the increased sedimentation and decline of our riparian environments around the world.
Carbon Footprint
Melted aluminum coated in clear urethane.
4H x 3W in.
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The image above is the imprint of a tire that no longer exists and was incinerated by the flames. The tire, a mainstay in the consumption of fossil fuels in the automobiles we drive, left its mark in the melted aluminum ingot of “Carbon Footprint”.
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These objects challenge us to tread softly because both man-made and natural sources of ignition can have disastrous consequences.
Carbon Footprint (2)
Melted aluminum, with tire imprint, painted in silver and black enamel and polyurethane, 18H x9W in.
Cloverleaf
Melted aluminum, painted in enamel, coated in clear polyurethane, mounted on wood.
13H x 8.25W in.
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Some folk traditions assign a different attribute to each leaf of a clover. The first leaf represents Hope, the second represents Faith, the third represents Love, and the fourth represents Luck.