Art’s potential to combine critical social analysis with the physical act of creation is, to me, irresistible. In our increasingly virtual world, a physical creation gains influence from its rarity, and I am compelled by art’s power to confront the viewer in a shared space. I am particularly interested in examining the ideas of “community,” “the public,” “social responsibility” and the artist’ role in contemporary society.

For the past several years, my interest in the public nature of art has led to an exploration of crowd dynamics and contemporary public identity: exploring the tension between one’s own private self-awareness and the presentation of oneself in the public setting of a group or crowd. I have been particularly intrigued by moments in which individuals are brought together in a shared situation but fail to coalesce as a united group, remaining psychologically isolated. This interest springs from my long-standing interest in humanism and existentialist philosophy.

As I look ahead to future projects, I am particularly interested with how art functions in the public realm. I have had the fortune of assisting on several large-scale monument projects, including the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial and the Cesar Chavez Monument in Austin, TX. In my future projects, I would like to engage with the historic legacy of sculpture and the concept of the memorial or monument: Who or What is worthy of a monument or memorial and How are they represented? What does it mean for a work of art to be “Public”? What role does art play in today’s society? What happens when a public work of art honors, manipulates, or subverts the traditions of memorials? How can public works of art be used to spark public discourse?


=============================================

As an artist and educator, I find it immensely rewarding to assist my students in becoming self-propelled artists, able to articulate their intentions for their artwork and possessing the skills to realize their ideas. To me, successful art communicates interesting perspectives and raises questions that spark thoughtful discussion. My classes emphasize the importance of approaching art-making as a process of creative problem-solving, not simply the means to an end product. The finished work is a reflection of the quality of this investigation.

My classes take a holistic approach to art education: individual assignments, writing exercises, in-class activities, group critiques, collaborative projects, and one-on-one discussions combine to create a variety of opportunities for students to consider their own perspectives in relation to those of others. This variety of teaching approaches also allows me to account for differences in students’ learning styles and educational backgrounds. By expanding their knowledge base beyond their comfort zones, my students further develop their own artistic voices as well as the skills and technical competency needed to articulate their own ideas.

I maintain high expectations for my students because I find that the combination of challenging assignments and constructive encouragement can propel students to work at a level they may have though was beyond their grasp. I hold my students accountable to these expectations, while at the same time holding myself accountable to my students. With commonly-understood goals and consistently-enforced standards of expectation, students can feel confident in their understanding of what I expect from them, and empowered to go beyond the minimum requirements of a specific assignment.

I design my classes to be engaged with the world outside our classroom. My classes structure opportunities for students to explore how civic engagement can be incorporated into a creative practice. I also encourage students to develop a keener awareness of how their artistic interests relate to other disciplines such as history, sociology, pop culture, current events, psychology and more. By helping my students see how their projects are connected to a variety of topics, I aim to help them understand how the questions and ideas which arise from their work can be of vital interest to a variety of people, and how they can be understood on multiple levels. Throughout class discussions, I also draw connections between my students’ work and discourse surrounding contemporary art to help them understand how their work is relevant to these larger discussions.

I have great respect for the responsibility I have to serve as a mentor and role model to my students. Although my primary responsibilities as an art instructor are to provide instruction on studio art techniques, art criticism and art history, it is important for me to acknowledge that my students are in the dramatic process of discovering where their interests lie and what kind of lives they want to lead. Although I have an enduring passion for art, I do not expect all my students to become professional artists. My aim is to foster my students’ development of creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills, as well as a deeper understanding of their own interests and passions which will serve them well in whatever direction life takes them.