Chronic Culture Calling!
An ongoing Participatory Art Project exploring the impact of online communication and social media channels on our collective well-being and proposing a new perspective on the term "chronic."
30 x 60 archival pigment print, edition of three
What’s Your Chronic Condition?
What drags you down, makes you retreat, feel anxious or depressed?
Is it chemical, pharmaceutical or communicating through your cells?
Or is it scrolling, trolling and grinding through your community?
Merriam Webster suggests a Chronic Condition is:
A constant vexing
A recurrent weakening
Something troubling happening again & again
But what if we could create a new kind of Chronic Condition?
A constant comforting
A recurrent strengthening
Something delightful happening again & again
30 x 60 archival pigment print, edition of three
Join me in Chronic Collaboration:
Using photographs of my painting practice, I create large scale digital collage prints. Viewers are encouraged to pick up a paint marker and make their marks on mine as they answer a question in words or drawings, for example:
What are your True Colors?
What do you Value that Can’t be Seen?
Each piece is a reflection of a chronic condition that troubles me and, in the making, converts that trouble into a strength of purpose and joy.
What Are Your True Colors?
While we addictively scroll through the experiences of others and communicate via our phones, the seemingly protective barrier of our screens exacerbates anxiety, depression and division. Our ability to be vulnerable and connect with others in person is weakened. As artists we question the value in sharing so much of ourselves and our process in order to be seen. My work aims to question this chronic condition and transform it into one of joy, resilience and collective strength.
CREDITS:
*Dot Editions Asheville: photo capture + final print.
*Negativland: songs remixed w/ permission, album: The World Will Decide - along with soundbites pulled from Aziz Ansari and Mr. Rogers
*Last but NOT LEAST - all of the Fabulous Participants who engaged with the print work and to all of my friends and family who sent scrolling videos of their faces. Love to all
The Process
Using photographs of my painting practice I create large-scale digital collage prints. Viewers are encouraged to pick up a paint marker and make their marks on mine as they answer a question in words or drawings, for example:
What are your True Colors?
What do you Value that Can’t be Seen?
After each event, I pick up the markers to re-engage with the artwork, experiencing my own joy as I collaborate with everyone’s marks to create a final and cohesive expression of chronic, creative community. This is a part of the process that I share with each participant before they engage with the work.
Highlighting, tracing and moving, or enlarging people’s words and drawings I weave their individual expressions back into the original words of the print. Lastly, I bring the piece to a fine art photographer who works with me to perfectly capture the intricate details and vibrant color of the original work and create the final print.