The Archive Re-Presented

I have always described myself as straddling two worlds, I have a MFA in painting and a PhD in art history. I’ve made work as well as supported and shown the work of others. I’ve resisted all arguments and counsel that one can’t or shouldn’t try to navigate two related, but distinct paths. And I find myself, late in my career, thinking about how to finally merge my worlds and place both feet firmly within the same space. Art historians and artists are generally schooled in consistency. They are encouraged to grow their work from an idea that may branch out or deviate from time to time, but that flows from a central core. In contrast, even if one works from a very specific ideological stance, curators must move from project to
project, artist to artist. The very nature of our work is somewhat peripatetic; not rootless, but ranging. This approach can be learned or, as I suspect it is in my case, it can be innate. While helpful in a museum role, it can be difficult in a studio practice and can result in a little too much wandering if you’re not disciplined and careful. After a lifetime of nonlinear thinking and studio production, I recently realized that perhaps I have been unknowingly working towards a curatorial solution to presenting my ideas and narratives. It is from this insight, that I now build my work. I propose to share this direction with the panel and collected audience.