I seek what we overlook through my work. I look at what we see but fail to perceive in the world around us. I invite the viewer in, encouraging them to come close to my work by working close to my subjects. I seek archetypal American images.
American marketing promises love, belonging, respect, self-esteem, and status by appealing to our hopes and dreams. Drinking the right water, eating the right cookie, wearing the right brand, and driving the right car are acts of self-actualization. One can be the “most they can be” simply by purchasing the right products. We are overwhelmed by choices and awash in a sea of limited-edition cookies and designer series SUVs.
Satisfying our basic physiological needs became industrialized in the twentieth century. Diverse products such as cookies, snacks, candies, cheeseburgers, soft drinks, water, and automobiles are commodities indistinguishable from one another in meeting our needs. Marketers strive to differentiate their products by raising them from merely satisfying our physical needs to fulfilling of our emotional and psychological desires.
I elevate the commonplace, making extraordinary our everyday American life.