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What Does This Symbol Mean To You?

The Peace Process: Step 1

The Peace Process: Step 2

The Peace Process: Step 3

The Peace Process: Step 4

The Peace Process: Step 5

Connect the Dots

Artist's Statement Immediately after the events of September 11th, I began to wonder what the response from the arts community would be and longed for the insight of fellow artists. With interest, I read in the newspaper about a gathering of poets on Venice beach. I knew the voices there would address the events in a way that would include discussion of the complexities of the situation with a depth that I had been missing from the mainstream media. That reading in turn, inspired me to create two series, both related to global themes. It was comforting and illuminating for me to put into visual form the concepts that had been running and ranting inside my head in response to all that was going on around me. The process helped me look at the string of reactions I was having even while attempting not to be so affected. The first series, called "The Peace Process," explores a notion that kept surfacing for me: in the framework of international conflicts and maneuverings you can see the same basic interpersonal dynamics that might be found between two people in a disagreement anywhere. The same issues of power, the same jockeying, and the same path toward resolution. So here the goal was to use a visually humorous, instructional style to express my possibly overly optimistic view (but, hey, I’m standing by it!) that communication is the key to ultimately generating a resolution between antagonistic political groups. With the second set, called "Connect the Dots" I've created a series of interconnected panels to convey the link between recent news events and underlying issues. I wanted to look specifically at the theme of power in relation to our current potent combination of international conglomerates, violence, and technology, and how these forces influence our policy making.