I make sculptures of sailing ships, made with found materials including fishing poles, brass hardware, steel wire, wood, metal scraps.
I've always loved miniature models and figures, and was especially captivated by exquisite wooden sailing ship models like the ones often found in lobbies of large buildings. One day it occurred to me that I could try to make a similar sort of ship model, but in my own style. But I only started making them a few years later, after it dawned on me that I could use fishing poles as masts & yards. That was the insight that sparked me to immediately start making the first one, the USS Halcyon.
USS HALCYON - 2011
49-3/4" long x 11-3/8" wide x 69” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS WESTERMANN - 2015
52" long x 9" wide x 44-1/2” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS SILVER CLIPPER- 2016
50" long x 12" wide x 69” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS BILL McKINNEY - 2016
59-1/2" long x 9" wide x 65” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS ARTHUR MACHEN - 2016
39" long x 11" wide x 47” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, antlers, seashells, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS PETER W. BLETHEN - 2017
40" long x 7" wide x 41-1/2” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS CHELSEA MANNING - 2018
43" long x 11" wide x 39” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS URSULA K LEGUIN - 2018
34" long x 7.5" wide x 41.5” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects, brass & copper wire
Click for MORE IMAGES & INFO about this ship
USS “BIG NEIL” MACIVER
52” long x 12” wide x 52” high
Scavenged wood, fishing poles, found objects
2018
Built in August 2018 during my Tides Institute & Art Museum’s StudioWorks Residency in Eastport, Maine.
Exhibited as part of my "Museum of Dubious Navigation"
North Church Studio, Eastport Maine, August 2018
Collection of Tides Institute & Art Museum, Eastport ME
These are wall-mounted sculptures made by unwinding rolled-paper dartboards & then rewinding them in various configurations. My finished Targets usually range from 5” to 12” in diameter, though I have made ones as large as 20” in diameter. Thicknesses range from ¼” to 1”.
Scroll to the bottom of this gallery to read the story of how I started making these sculptures.
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 18" diameter. 2006
Exhibited at “Beyond Boundaries” SFMOMA Artists Gallery 2006
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 20" diameter. 2006
Exhibited at “Beyond Boundaries” SFMOMA Artists Gallery 2006
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 12" diameter. 2004
Exhibited at “Beyond Boundaries” SFMOMA Artists Gallery 2006
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 11" diameter. 2006
Exhibited at “Beyond Boundaries” SFMOMA Artists Gallery 2006
Collection of Jack Fischer
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 7" diameter. 2007
Exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 7.5" diameter. 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 15" diameter. 2006
Exhibited at “Beyond Boundaries” SFMOMA Artists Gallery 2006; & “Game Show” Contemporary Craft Museum Gallery, Portland 2006
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 12" diameter. 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 6" diameter. 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 3" diameter. 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 5" diameter. 2007
Exhibited at "Strange Weeds" Underground Gallery, Santa Fe NM 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 6.5" diameter. 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 3.5" diameter. 2007
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 12" diameter. 2007
Collection of Peng-Peng Wang
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 8" diameter. 2007
Collection of Tatsuya Nakatani
Unwound/rewound paper dartboard. 6.75" diameter. 2003
Exhibited at "The Lab 20th Anniversary Show" 2003; & “Beyond Boundaries” SFMOMA Artists Gallery 2006
In 1996 I was at a symposium [1] in the Czech Republic making sculptures & installations. One day I found a dartboard in a second-hand shop & realized that it was made of tightly-rolled paper, a kind of heavy paper or thin cardboard. I thought that I might be able to make something interesting by unwinding this dartboard.
The next day I carefully unwound most of the dartboard onto the third story floor of an 18th-century tower of the castle, leaving a small section at the very center, the bulls-eye.
I liked the result even more than than I'd imagined: to me it looked very much like a topographical map & it looked especially good in that room. This is one of my favorite installations ever, partly because it was such a simple idea. The piece remained in place for several weeks after I returned to the USA.
I liked this piece & wanted to make another one, but didn't get a chance until 2001 when curator Jay Jensen of the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, Hawai'i wanted to buy one for that museum. He asked me to make a couple samples & send him photos of them. I didn’t have enough room to leave them unrolled after taking photos, so I had, for the first time, to roll them up again. When I did this, I realized that, in a different way, these were as interesting when re-rolled as they were unrolled.
Because I couldn't rewind them nearly as tightly as they'd originally been wound by machine, the painted dartboard patterns quickly degraded, often in a kind of spiraling away, like smoke from a chimney.
Sometimes, reversals of this disintegrating pattern occur: I think it's the same type of phenomenon as when the wheels of a moving automobile look like they're rotating in reverse even though the car is traveling forward. There is probably a mathematical algorithm that describes this effect. This reversal takes several distinct typical forms.
I like that these unwound and rewound dartboards refer to folk & craft forms without really being part of a specific tradition, and that they vaguely refer to painting without technically being paintings (though their colors & patterns were in fact originally made of paint). I could say that they are industrial paintings (or industrial sculptures) painstakingly & recklessly dismantled and remade into hand-crafted sculptures.
While the basic idea & method of crafting these objects remains consistent, I have discovered that there is great variety in what can be accomplished. Having made nearly 100 of these so far, I have a better understanding of what is possible, & better control over the material, But my control over the end result is still vague and intuitive, so I am still constantly surprised & delighted by what I have made, & am still discovering new possibilities for this work.
[1] Mapováni Prostoru (Mapping Space), a symposium organized by Helena Hrdličková, then director of Galerie u Bilého jednorožce (the White Unicorn Gallery), the civic gallery of the Bohemian city of Klatovy. The symposium was held on the grounds of Hrad Klenová (Klenova Castle), about 20km away.
Here I am unwinding the Target that Jay Jensen bought for The Contemporary Museum, Hawai'i.
Since 2007 I’ve made small sculptures using cement, wood glue and a wide range of found objects & materials.
I usually cast the cement in discarded plastic formed packaging, like the sort used to protect lightbulbs, with inserts such as shuttlecocks, millinery pins, rusted iron, corn cobs, tincture of iodine, sugar cubes, gauges, goblets & other unlikely materials. The resulting sculptures allude to metallurgy, agriculture, religion, exploration, burial & other basic processes of culture-building.
I think of these as archeological artifacts from an alternate timeline in which the development of human civilizations differed slightly from our own.
7” h x 3.25” diameter
cement, wood glue, iron, copper, pins
2011
Approx. 7" long x 4" high x 3" wide
Cement, shuttlecock, millinery pins
2010
9.75” h x 4” diameter
Cement
2008
Approx. 5" h x 3" diameter
Cement, millinery pins
2011
Approx. 12" h x 10" w x 4" deep
Cement, millinery pins
2011
Collection of Anne Austin
7” h x 3.75” diameter
Cement, steel & magic marker
2008
Approx. 8" high x 3" diameter
Cement, shuttlecock, millinery pins
2010
Approx. 7" long
Cement, wood, cotton fabric, pins
2010
Friseur
2008
Cement & feather duster
11" h x 8" diameter
Trishira 2
2008
Cement, shuttlecock & eyebolt
11" l x 3" diameter
Rear: Thrall
7” h x 11” w x 2” d
cement, corn cobs
2007
Collection of Lucien Jamey
Front: Drift
8” l x 3” h x 3.5” w
cement, shuttlecock
2007
Collection of Pamela Z
Torii
8" h x 5" w x 2" d
cement, wood, millinery pins
2008
Homeless Pillow
24" l x 16" w x 8" h
cement, latex paint
2006
I make abandoned ghost towns using materials found in the natural or urban environments where I subsequently install them. I began making them during a residency in Silver City, Nevada, and enjoyed them so much I continue making them & adapting them to new environments.
First ghost town constructions. Studio view. McCormick House artist residence, Silver City NV. 2016
First ghost town constructions. Studio view. McCormick House artist residence, Silver City NV. 2016
Sweaty Creek NV (installation view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. Dimensions variable. 2016
My first ghost town. Installed in the hills above Silver City Nevada during an artist residency there. Collection of Silver City Nevada.
Sweaty Creek NV (installation view - detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. Dimensions variable. 2016
Sweaty Creek NV (detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Collection of Silver City NV
Sweaty Creek NV (detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Collection of Silver City NV
Sweaty Creek NV (detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Collection of Silver City NV
Sweaty Creek NV (detail)
Found maple syrup tin, found metal, cyanoacrylate. 2016
Collection of Silver City NV
Fort Mylo NV (installation view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. Dimensions variable. 2016
My second ghost town. Also installed in hills above Silver City NV. Collection of Silver City NV.
Fort Mylo NV (installation view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. Dimensions variable. 2016
Fort Mylo NV (installation view - detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. Dimensions variable. 2016
Fort Mylo NV (installation view - detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. Dimensions variable. 2016
Fort Mylo NV (studio view - detail)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (studio view of several elements)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (studio view of several elements)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Collection of Lynn Beldner & Steve Briscoe
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
Leaverville CA (detail/studio view)
Found objects, wood glue, nails. 2016
I've collected hundreds of small objects that I think are beautiful but have been difficult to incorporate into artworks. One day I thought of making a small "museum" built to a scale appropriate for displaying these objects. My first effort was the "Fisher-Price Collection," an obvious play on The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the new SFMOMA. I liked my version so much that I started experimenting with other small dioramas most of which are more like small galleries.
Fisher-Price Collection
2013
Mixed media
3.5" h x 12" l x 11" w
Fisher-Price Collection (detail)
2013
Mixed media
3.5" h x 12" l x 11" w
Fisher-Price Collection (detail)
2013
Mixed media
3.5" h x 12" l x 11" w
Fisher-Price Collection (detail)
2013
Mixed media
3.5" h x 12" l x 11" w
Fisher-Price Collection 2
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Fisher-Price Collection 2 (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 17.5" w x 4" d
Arrested In His Tracks
2013
Mixed media
8.75" h x 12" l x 5" w
Arrested In His Tracks
2013
Mixed media
8.75" h x 12" l x 5" w
Heroes of the Revolution
2013
Mixed media
8.75" h x 12" l x 5" w
I Love You version 1 (detail)
2013
Mixed media
4.5" h x 12" l x 6.5" w
The Critic
2013
Mixed media
8.75" h x 12" l x 5" w
Self Portrait Gallery
2013
Mixed media
6.75" h x 8" l x 4" w
Passion
2013
mixed media
3" h x 12" w x 5" d
Passion (detail)
2013
mixed media
3" h x 12" w x 5" d
Clown & Cholla
2014
mixed media
Selfie
2014
mixed media
Ragnarok
2015
mixed media
3.75" h x 6" w x 4" d
After Hours at the Museum
2016
Mixed media
3" h x 8" w x 6" d
First Contact
2014
mixed media
6" h x 6" w x 4" d
Theater Set for Shakespeare's Macbeth
2016
Mixed media
4.75" h x 14" w x 7" d
Theater Set for Shakespeare's Macbeth (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4.75" h x 14" w x 7" d
Theater Set for Shakespeare's Macbeth (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4.75" h x 14" w x 7" d
Theater Set for Shakespeare's Macbeth (detail)
2016
Mixed media
4.75" h x 14" w x 7" d
Opera Set for Verdi's Aida
2016
Mixed media
8.5" h x 17" w x 10" d
Opera Set for Verdi's Aida (detail)
2016
Mixed media
8.5" h x 17" w x 10" d
Opera Set for Verdi's Aida (detail)
2016
Mixed media
8.5" h x 17" w x 10" d
Theater Set for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
2016
Mixed media
5" h x 8.5" w x 8.5" d
Theater Set for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
2016
Mixed media
5" h x 8.5" w x 8.5" d
Theater Set for an All-White production of Gershwin's Porgy & Bess
2016
Mixed media
6" h x 16" w x 8" d
Opera Set for John Adams' War of the Worlds
2016
Mixed media
4" h x 6" w x 6" d
These paintings are all made with paints salvaged from my job as a museum preparator and are on 12" x 12" x 3/4" mdf panels that are also salvaged museum scrap. They were initially inspired by a book on Howard Hodgkin, and by some paintings by Erin Lawlor & Sara Bright that I saw at George Lawson Gallery.
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2014
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2014
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2014
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
12" x 12" mixed media on mdf 2015
View of studio installation during artist residency at The Compound, Oakland CA 2015
I'd never intended to be a painter, but in 1993 I was experiencing writer's block while working on a marketing-type paid writing commission in my home office. To clear my head, I started going to my back porch studio at the other end of my apartment & playing with various paint materials I'd accumulated when I'd been a house painting contractor. I'd smear spray paints & spar varnishes onto plywood, getting mildly high from the fumes in that small space until it would suddenly occur to what needed to be written next. I spent a couple months going back & forth between the office & the studio until finally I'd not only finished the writing project but had also filled the studio with over 50 paintings. The only thing to do was to have a show & try to give them all away for free. So I did just that & discovered that people liked some of the paintings very much. I'd enjoyed doing them, so I decided I'd make some more.
Now I’ve made probably over 1000 paintings since then, ranging in styles from bulbous, dripping abstractions & clean-edged cartoonish vignettes to much more complicated collage paintings that strongly suggest disturbing narratives. Here are just a few of my favorites, the latest ones first & the earliest ones at the bottom of the scroll.
Orithiya
2015
Mixed media on plywood
19" h x 19" w
Exhibited in Summertime Paintings, Studios Eleven, Oakland CA 2015
Hover
2015
Mixed media on panel
16" h x 20" w
Exhibited in Summertime Paintings, Studios Eleven, Oakland CA 2015
Collection of Torreya Cummings
Persephone 2 (aka Spiraluna)
2015
Mixed media on mdf
17" h x 15" w
Exhibited in Summertime Paintings, Studios Eleven, Oakland CA 2015
No Heather Holt Exists Without a Sustaining Support
2015
Mixed media on panel
24" h x 30" w
Collection of Heather Holt
Fourth of Seven Unsuccessful Attempts to Copy a Photo of Michel Houellebecq
2015
Mixed media on panel
30" h x 24" w
Exhibited in Anxiety! at NIAD Art Center, Richmond CA 2015
First of Seven Unsuccessful Attempts to Copy a Photo of Michel Houellebecq
2015
Mixed media on panel
30" h x 24" w
Exhibited in Anxiety! at NIAD Art Center, Richmond CA 2015
Two Clowns Short of a Circus
2014
Mixed media on panel
30" h x 40" w
Exhibited as part of Wa(i)sted, Cricket Engine, Oakland CA 2014
Nest
2011
Acrylic on panel
16" h x 16" w
Exhibited as part of Wreck of the Halcyon, Cricket Engine, Oakland CA 2011
Collection of Steve Briscoe
Surface 28
2009
Varnish, spray paint on canvas
30" h x 24" w
The Battle of Hollister
2008
Model paint, acrylic & pencil on doorskin
36" h x 36" w
Collection of Tony Rugege
Cabin Fever
2008
Ink, liquid paper on found chalkboard
11" h x 14" w
Exhibited as part of Helter Shelter, Soap Gallery 2009
Jackson
2006
Mixed media on panel
36" h x 48" w
2013
Exhibited in Vessels at Arts Benicia, Benicia CA juried by Larry Rinder
Lyric
2006
Ink, acrylic, spray paint, collage & varnish on wood siding
36" h x 23" w
Son of Heaven
2006
Mixed media on canvas
40" h x 30" w
Exhibited in Heavy Hitters at Cricket Engine 2009
Collection of Rob Rynski
Breath To Air
2006
Mixed media on canvas
30" h x 24" w
Surface 23
2006
Varnish, spray paint on canvas
30" h x 24" w
Surface 13
2002
Varnish, spray paint, Liquid Paper on canvas
18" h x 14" w
Surface 15
2002
Varnish, spray paint, liquid paper on canvas
30" h x 24" w
Surface 18
2002
Varnish, spray paint, liquid paper on Ilfochrome print by John Chiara
40" h x 30" w
Surface 19
2002
Varnish & spray paint on Ilfochrome print by John Chiara
61" h x 42" w" w
American Pop!
2002
Varnish, spray paint, collage on canvas
60" h x 48" w
Witness
2002
Varnish, spray paint, collage, blackboard slating on canvas
40" h x 30" w
Exhibited in New Langton Arts 30th Anniversary Auction
Collection of Karen & Jeff Block
Landscape 49
2001
Ink, iodine, acrylic on canvas
24” h x 30” w
Exhibited at ODC Gallery, November 2001
Grabber
2000
Varnish, spray paint, ink on found canvas
18" h x 24" w
Collection of Sara Maybanks
Empire
1999
Varnish, spray paint, ink, collage on canvas
42" h x 30" w
Exhibited in Closer To Home Adaline Kent Exhibition, SF Art Institute, 2000.
Collection of Dr. Susan Greene
Pair
1994
Mixed media on plywood
32" h x 24" w
Exhibited in Adaline Kent exhibition, Walter-McBean Gallery, SF Art Institute, June 2000
Collection of Michelle Rollman
Jupiter
1994
Ink, spray paint, varnish on plywood
32" h x 24" w
Collection of Jennifer June
Forgive
1993
Mixed media on plywood
32" h x 24" w
Exhibited at Sneak Gallery 1995
Collection of Sabrina Merlo
Roraima
1993
Mixed media on plywood
32" h x 24" w
Exhibited at Sneak Gallery 1995
I make lots of other (typically smallish) sculptures in addition to the Sailing Ships, Ghost Towns, Targets & Cement Sculptures. Usually but not always these mixed media sculptures rely heavily on the juxtaposition of existing found objects. Often these sculptures will be generated as part of my process of building larger installations; many of the examples shown here, while complete sculptures in their own right, have also been components of exhibitions documented elsewhere on this website. Notations to that effect have been included in the captions.
Real Boy
2016
Birch branches, shoes
23.5” h x 6” w 9” d
A component of The Burdens of Desire
Case of Emergency
2015
mixed media
approx. 7" h x 12" w x 3" d
A component of The Burdens of Desire
Collection of Torreya Cummings
Value
2015
mixed media on mdf
Dimensions variable. Each ingot is 7.5” l x 3.5” w x 2” h
A component of The Burdens of Desire
Passing Glass
2013
glass & tin
9.25” h x 6.75” w x 7” h
Exhibited as part of Useless Magic, Smokey’s Tangle, Oakland CA 2013
FatMax 25
2013
Testor's model paint on mdf
3" h x 5"w x 2.5" d
Shown as a component of Useless Magic at Smokey's Tangle, 2013
Storm Catcher
2011
wood, foam & wire brushes
approx 10" d x 7" w x 7" h
Exhibited as a component of The Wreck of the Halcyon, Cricket Engine, Oakland CA 2011
Guide For The Perplexed
2010
Wood & hinges
dimensions variable; here: 4' h x 6' w x 5' d
Exhibited as a component of The Museum of Bitter Sorrows presents: My Life Is a Prison
Saint Mary’s Art Center, Virginia City NV 2010
Boneyard
2010
mixed media
dimensions variable
Exhibited as a component of The Museum of Bitter Sorrows presents: My Life Is a Prison
Saint Mary’s Art Center, Virginia City NV 2010
Warning
2010
mixed media
4" h x 4" l x 2" d
Eyeglasses For One-Eyed Man
2008
Altered Dr. Dean Edell reading glasses
6” l x 3” w x 2” h
Collection of Quido Sen
untitled
2008
wood, tin, copper nails, electrical tape
9" h x 6" w x 3" d
Pivot
2007
copper, brass, shuttlecock, iodine
8” h x 3” diameter
collection of Pamela Z
Brick
2007
sugar cubes, wood glue, spar varnish
5" l x 3.5" w x 2.5" h
Exhibited as a component of Lost Coming Back This Way at Cricket Engine, Oakland CA 2007
Collection of Lexa Walsh
Splinth
2007
corn cob, wooden base from Haiti, millinery prins, wood glue
10" h x 6" w x 6" d
Exhibited as a component of Lost Coming Back This Way at Cricket Engine, Oakland CA 2007
Collection of Dr. John M. Bennett
Load (aka Sled)
2006
Skateboard, fleece, cell phone, straps, 3600 Calorie ER Food Bar (food bar not pictured)
8” h x 19” l x 7” w
Exhibited in Intersection for the Arts' “State of the Nation” 6/29/06
and in "Kick-Ass," Köln, Germany 2008
Collection of Franz John
All Yours
2003
styrofoam, plexiglas, acrylic & action figures
16" h x 16" w x 27" l
Exhibited in "Landing" at Southern Exposure, San Francisco CA 2003
Dedalus
2000
Ceramic doll arm, velvet, spring, steel cable, hardware.
7" h x 12" w x 8" d
Collection of Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House (formerly The Contemporary Museum Hawai'i)
Icarus
2000
mylar, hardware
10" h x 8" d
Honey (aka Dhghmunculus 8)
1998
Mixed media (pink bolster pillow & steel bedsprings)
Approx. 24" high
Honey was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Dhghmunculus 68
1998
Mixed media (floral bolster pillow, leather bridle, rope)
Approx. 14" high
Dhghmunculus 68 was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Spark
1998
Mixed media (glassware, steel, cat toy)
Approx. 5" high
Spark was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Collection of Jennifer Una
Dhghmunculus 73
1998
Mixed media (Pink stuffed quilted fabric, black garter, metal spur)
36" long
Dhghmunculus 73 was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Dhghmunculus 71
1998
Tube transistor, dried beet
4” high
This was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Love Clamp (aka Dhghmunculus 56)
1997
C-clamp, Gold Coin condom wrappers
5” long
This was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Collection of Caprice Carter
Dhghmunculus 30
1996
Leather case, rust, steel, acrylic & tools
15” h x 15” w x 15” d
This was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Collection of Alan Millar
Dhghmunculus 50
1998
Dead bee, tube transistor, brass shavings, red leather box
7” h x 7” w x 7” d
This was a component of my installation "Dhghmunculus"
The Lab, San Francisco, October-November 1998
Collection of Linda Wilson
Transport (installation view)
1996
tree branches, handtruck
14' high
Exhibited during "Mapping Space" symposium in Hrad Klenova, Klenova, Czech Republic, 1996
Venus of Willendorf
1995
Rusted pneumatic fitting, gold chain
3" high
Most of these installations are extensive, filling an entire gallery or house or large area of a natural environment. Some were created & utilized during my durational performances. Most are made up of distinct but thematically-related assemblages & sculptures. More photos of & information about many of them can be accessed via links in the accompanying captions.
Betaville
2014
Smokey’s Tangle, Oakland CA
I rear-projected my film "Betaville" on the inside of the gallery window. The 1-hour long film looped & played for 3 hours each evening for a month.
Helter Shelter (detail)
2009
Soap Gallery, San Francisco CA
Sculptures & paintings relating to theme of "shelter"
For more information see the entry for Soap Gallery 2009 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Situation Room (detail)
2006
Mixed media
approx 25' w x 30' d x 9' h
This week-long installation was part of Joachim Blank and Gerrit Gohlke piece called "1st Public White Cube," which was itself part of SFMOMA's 2006 Art of Participation exhibition, curated by Karl-Heinz Jeron.
For more information see the entry for SFMOMA 2006 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Dhghmunculus
1998
The Lab, San Francisco
My part of a 2-person show (with John Woodall)
For more information see entry for The Lab 1998 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Alien Encounters, (detail)
1998
Temple Gallery/Kortrijks JOVC, Kortrijks, Belgium
Altered x-rays, collages & writings in a storefront gallery
We Have Proven We Can Prove It
1996
unwound paper dartboard
dimensions variable; here approx. 18' x 18'
exhibited at "Mapping Space: 2nd International Symposium Hrad Klenova” Klenova, Czech Republic 1996
The New Man Is Learning To Swim (detail)
1996
Dominic Centrum, Plzeň, Czech Republic
Altered x-rays, dead fish, lights, tar paper, text in medieval cellar
System 1
1995
"30th Anniversary Show" Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco
Steel shower enclosure, loudspeaker, found objects
For more information see the entry for System 1 under Intersection 1995 or click this link
Even If Such An Object Outside Us Were Unimportant (detail)
1995
Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco CA
Found objects, paint, text
For more information see the entry for Southern Exposure 1995 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Trace Elements (detail)
1991
Found wood & ceramics, stones
Approx. 48" l by 18" w x 18" h
One of a half-dozen found object sculptures made as components of a mapping/treasure hunt installation on an old toxic landfill near Podvornice Student Cultural Center, Dubravka, Czechoslovakia
Schopenhauer's Visitors (detail)
September 1991
Found objects, twine, silk
Approx. 24" w by 24" d x 36" h
One of a half-dozen found object sculptures made as components of installation for city-wide "Day of Open Doors" festival, Kostelec nad Cernymi Lesy, Czechoslovakia. This one is titled "Barry"
For more information see the entry for Open House 1991 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Streben und Atmen
1990
statues, plastic, hoses, straps, water
dimensions variable
collaboration w/Stephen Jacob
exhibited at "Ausfall 90," Zwinger Palace, Karl-Marx-Stadt, DDR 1990
Refugee (detail)
8/12/90
Shirts, dyed string, sickle, bowl, water. This is a component of an installation made during a performance at Galerie H in Kostelec nad Černymi Lesy, Czechoslovakia.
For more information see the entry for Refugee, Kostelec n. Černymi Lesy 1990
under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Wind Chimes
1990
Found wood, twine, cans
approx. 11' h x 7' w
A component of "CruciFictions" exhibit at Holyland, near Joshua Tree, CA
The Infant Carlos III Dreams of the New World (detail)
1990
Detail of one of many sculptural elements from large installation resulting from 16-hour performance Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco on 2/27/90
This project was commissioned by Intersection for the Arts Projects/Off-Site Spaces.
For more information see the entry for The Infant Carlos III Dreams of the New World 1990 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
Field Equations (detail)
1983
Detail from an immersive text-based installation made collaboratively with Clifford Hunt at the Student Union Art Gallery at San Francisco State University.
For more information see the entry for SFSU 1983 under EXHIBITIONS or click this link
As a child, I drew incessantly. After the age of about seven, I mostly drew battle scenes from movies I'd seen: Robin Hood, Red River, Ivanhoe, Prince Valiant, They Died With Their Boots On, Manila Calling. As a teenager I drew hundreds of battle maps showing detailed troop movements & articulating strategic principles such as the phalanx & the pincer movement. I also started drawing architectural plan views of cities, castles, taverns, and of houses that I would like to live in. Still do. I channeled my low level OCD into these & other "doodling" activities, constantly creating new games for myself to play on a daily basis. I particularly enjoyed drawing new subway systems onto city maps. Still do. But for all that I never developed what one would typically call a "drawing practice." I drew Art Crumb inspired cartoons in high school but pictorial realism has eluded me my whole life. But over the years I have come up with a few drawings that I like. Here are some of them.
Teeth Puppet 1
2004
charcoal on paper
12" h x 9" w
Pull-Tooth
2004
charcoal on paper
9" h x 12" w
Vortex 2
2007
ink, Liquid Paper on photocopy
8.5" h x 11" w
Algemeines
2006
ink, Liquid Paper, iodine on found book page
10" h x 7" w
Marguerite
2007
pencil on found end paper
8" h x 5.75" w
collection of Maw Shein Win
Eugene
2007
pencil on paper
8" h x 6" w
collection of Maw Shein Win
Ita-Mi
2011
ink, iodine, blood on cloth
10" h x 8" w
Optimism
2008
pencil & chalk on tracing paper
17" h x 14" w
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (aka Disaster 2.9)
2008
ink on Dura-lar
12" h x 9" w
part of Disaster Drawings 2 series
exhibited in “Pushing Paper” RhodesFletcher, San Francisco CA 2010
Scoring (aka Disaster 2.1)
2008
ink on Dura-lar
12" h x 9" w
part of Disaster Drawings 2 series
exhibited in “Pushing Paper” RhodesFletcher, San Francisco CA 2010
Policy Environment (aka Disaster 2.3)
2008
ink on Dura-lar
12" h x 9" w
part of Disaster Drawings 2 series
exhibited in “Pushing Paper” RhodesFletcher, San Francisco CA 2010
Salvage Operations (aka Disaster 2.11)
2008
ink on Dura-lar
12" h x 9" w
part of Disaster Drawings 2 series
exhibited in “Pushing Paper” RhodesFletcher, San Francisco CA 2010
We Can Flood Our Country (aka Disaster 1.1)
2006
magic marker & collage on card stock
11" h x 8.5" w
part of Disaster Drawings 1 series
Bottom In Seventeen Minutes (aka Disaster 1.2)
2006
magic marker & collage on card stock
11" h x 8.5" w
part of Disaster Drawings 1 series
Our Burying Place (aka Disaster 1.15)
2006
magic marker & collage on card stock
11" h x 8.5" w
part of Disaster Drawings 1 series
Page 273
2014
ink on paper
12" h x 9" w
Palette
2014
ink on paint chip brochure
12" h x 9" w
Tai-Kutsu (aka Unbearable Activity)
2008
ink on acetate
11" h x 14" w
Sexual Developments
2008
mixed media on paper
12" h x 14" w
Stinson Skull
2007
mixed media on digital print
11" h x 8.5" w
Anticipation
2007
ink & pencil on tracing paper
14" h x 17" w
Bewegungsapparat
2006
pencil, Liquid Paper, iodine on found book page
10" h x 7" w
Red Conglomerate
2008
acrylic on paper
14" h x 11" w
Red Smear 1
2008
acrylic on paper
14" h x 11" w
Lester Horton
2014
ink on matboard
8" h x 3.5" w
from a series of drawings inspired by dancers of the Alvin Ailey Company
From October 2014 through March 2015, I was an artist in residence at The Compound in Oakland, CA, an artist-run studio & gallery space that supports multidisciplinary activities but could be said to have a special focus on various types of printmaking. I had never really done any printing, so I took a few workshops & eventually concentrated on screen printing, as it was quick & fun & well suited to creating multiples based on some of my existing paintings & drawings. Here are some of the prints I made during that residency.
State of the Union
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Housing Market 1
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
House 3
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Police Cars
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Stag
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Salvage Operations
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Victims, Waiting
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Cafe Man
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Two Refugees
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Woman Watering
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Girl Blowing
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Couple Catching
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Falling Trolley
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Horrible City!
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Horrible City (variation)
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Horrible City (variation)
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Horrible City (variation)
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Flowers 4
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Flowers 7
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
Flowers 12
2015
serigraph
14" h x 11" w
![In 1996 I was at a symposium [1] in the Czech Republic making sculptures & installations. One day I found a dartboard in a second-hand shop & realized that it was made of tightly-rolled paper, a kind of heavy paper or thin cardboard](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5558f50de4b0a213bdd78713/1480797501554-FIHWYGU683E80I2V2W9I/We+Have+Proven.jpg)
