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ARTIST STATEMENTS
The Sacred & the Profane
July 6th-30th,
2009 | Fred Simon Gallery, Nebraska Arts Council, Omaha
The dichotomy between the
sacred and the profane is a central
characteristic of most religions and belief systems. The sacred/profane
dichotomy is not necessarily equivalent to good/evil. The "sacred" can
be good or evil, and the "profane" can be either as well. For example-
both guns and money can be agents of good and security for some, and
profaned by others into agents of evil; at the expense and detriment of
everyone else. On the other hand, and without any suggestion of irony, I
hold nature (represented by ocean fish in this show) to be the perfect
model of balance, adaptation, and variation on a theme; and thus sanctity.
I believe that the darker side of America has grown as result of
over-consumption, personal corruption, and greed. Personal corruption
occurs when a person betrays, or "profanes" their belief system for
personal gain. The work in this show explores the relationship between
what I consider sacred and what I feel has been profaned in our society.
I put myself in the point of view of a future archeologist, unearthing
object d'art treasures and revealing them to a curious public. Each new
"discovery" causes a reframing of ones own belief system. The use of
precious metals and representation of objects of power refer to
archeological artifacts and mimics religious reliquaries. By controlling
the illusion of passing time there is a hope to predict, and possibly
change, the course of our future.
What Price Progress?
April 7th-30th,
2006 |
Hot Shops Art Center, Omaha
Archaeologists uncover
unknown objects from the past and demystify their meaning with the best
scientific reasoning from the present. In my art, I am an archaeologist
working in reverse order. I approach familiar,
known objects from the present (some that are imbued with personal or
collective memory) and represent them as mysterious relics from the
past, who's meaning must then be interpreted by the viewer. I select and
juxtapose objects, then arrange them within a new context that mimics the
antique charts and diagrams from science past. This reordering and
re-contextualization invites the viewer not only to interpret the meaning
of the combined image, but allows them to generate new meaning. The main
purpose for creating the work in this show was to contemplate and analyze
the imbalanced relationships between consumption and society; and society
to its own understanding of itself. The conclusion that I arrived at is
this: buried beneath our comfort and security there are dangers to our
existence as individuals and as a society. There is a price for progress,
and it's about due.
GALLERIES
What Price Progress?
The Sacred and the Profane
BIO
RÉSUMÉ
(Abobe pdf)
CONTACT
phone: (402) 558-2356
tmuller@mullerstudios.com
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