Theses and Dissertations Collection

​I am a machine expressionist. I enjoy creating the essence of a machine from parts that are other used things. It is about harnessing all the physical characteristics and emotions of a machine without the utility. In doing so I try to include an absurd sense of humor in my work when I am reimagining machines that are Sisyphean answers to simple problems. If done correctly, it will require more process and or energy to get the task done than if you had done it by hand. In such ways that they can tell a different story, my work explores some unique scientific or humorous association but is always bordering on the inane. Humor and absurdity are vital to inviting the viewer into the work. It is important for me to use old tools or discarded objects that were mundane items in ways that defy their original value or function. The used objects are vessels for memories and emotions that are used to create the stories being told. I am hopeful that these works of art will lend opportunity for those people that are represented by these objects to engage in dialogue. Perhaps this generation, not knowing how they were utilized, can start a conversation between themselves and the generations of people who actually used them. It is my hope they can create a bridge between divergent populations and create empathic people if just for the moment.