Welcome!

Artist Statement

Native American mythology speaks of a deity known as Coyote. Coyote embodies the wily, sneaky, and troublesome God of the Wild West. However, Coyote is a ubiquitous and multifaceted being. In creation myths, Coyote appears as the Creator himself; but at the same time he may be the messenger, the cultural hero, the trickster, the wanderer, the truth teller, the destroyer, and the fool. He also holds the ability of a transformer: in some stories, he is a handsome young man; in others, he is an animal; yet others present him as just a power, and a sacred one who set forth the laws for which men may live in peace.

Knowing this, it is not too far-fetched for me to claim a certain kinship or ancestry to this deity. For, I am exactly that, an unassuming trickster who prefers to avoid categorization. I approach my work as Coyote through the creation of conceptually based sociopolitical sculptures, installations, performances, paintings, drawings, and mishmash. I present a specific truth in each of my works through the use of cultural symbols that Americans (in particular) readily identify with, such as, political and historical figures, national landmarks, and icons of popular culture. Through my work, I reveal the sides of our nature that we would rather not acknowledge. My work perpetually holds up a skewed mirror of reality for us to contemplate, to play the part of the character who eagerly points out the Emperor’s nakedness.

I use satire as an invitation into my work to underscore its more serious implications. I believe vehemently in the revolutionary role of laughter in American culture. This very laughter allows us to break out of our stereotypes, whether these labels have been imposed by ourselves or our culture. It is this kind of satirical laughter that behooves us all to be receptive to it, to recognize its merits in pointing out our shortcomings, in presenting alternative points of view, and providing an open forum for critical analysis that can yield thoughtful solutions.

I look particularly to poetry and literature to aide me in my use of cultural symbols and fresh imagery. James Joyce is an author who more than successfully exploits the way words look and sound to associate them with remote, unrelated ideas. In my work, I employ a similar strategy by playing a seemingly simple game of connect-the-dots between signifiers and thoughts.

As Coyote, I am more than a bit subversive and perhaps a tad devilish. I agree with the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, who maintained that all the artificial growths of society were incompatible with happiness and advocated for a return to the simplicity of nature. The thinking of Diogenes symbolizes a revolt against the “progress” of civilization by believing that man complicated every simple gift of the gods. Similarly, my work holds great disdain for the folly, pretense, vanity, social climbing, self-deception, and artificiality of human conduct.

I approach my work in the same manner as Diogenes is said to have rummaged through human bones. The story goes that Diogenes, while rummaging through human bones, was interrupted by Alexander The Great who asked him what he was doing. Diogenes explained, “I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave.” I like to think of my work as rummaging through the bones of our forefathers and then gnawing on those bones to suck them free of any existing marrow.

While my approach is similar to Diogenes, the foundation of my work stems from the spirit of the Medieval carnival. The function of the carnival was to provide a vent to people's death fear and anger over social injustice. "Everything was allowed" and, for a short period of time, any social taboos were eradicated. Fools and prostitutes were "crowned" to embody Kings, Queens, saints, monks, and nuns. The chosen ones were mocked, ridiculed, assailed, beaten, stoned, "dethroned", and "impeached". Though this scenario is difficult to envision in today’s heavily class-based society, at times, I subvert our social structure by becoming the Fool, to embody an extension of the carnival and to act as the ultimate Nietzschean character. As the Fool, I move between worlds, to demonstrate the power of the individual to transcend societal norms, to be absolutely fearless and communicate this fearlessness to all. Therefore, I become representative of the utopian ideal personified in the individual.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology is one institution that has inspired the “carnivalesque” themes of my work. Its collection is filled to the brim with the unexplainable for anyone to gawk at and marvel over. The museum forces its viewers to play the part of spectators, cynics, and fools. Similarly, I present my work in a manner that encourages this kind of befuddled wonderment. My process always begins with thorough research of my chosen subject coupled with the development of a conceptual framework that I build upon throughout the course of realizing my specific idea. In the same manner as the Museum of Jurassic Technology, my work relies on a sprinkle of truth that is then represented in a manner that reveals a greater lie or consequence.

I willingly play the part of a Don Quixote de la Mancha, the jester, and Lear’s fool. I will fight any number of windmills, talk to Yorrick’s decaying skull, and wear my cap ‘n bells while doing so if it will succeed in disrupting the natural order of things to prevent cultural stagnation and any further social injustice.