Closed Systems

- "Closed systems" was a initially a term I first heard from a professor at MICA in regards to my work. On the surface it was a negative comment but it took and and investigated it as if there was something to learn from these systems. Thus they are physical manifestations of the abstract concept of work being unapproachable or alienating.

-The other half of my "Closed Systems" has to do with Duchamp. What I've always loved about Duchamp is his gestures. They are so simple and yet so powerful. However, what I've always hated about Duchamp is the very thing he was famous for, his ready-mades. To me he is the inventor of "Bull Shit art" where craftsmanship was no longer defined as the mastery of a material but the rather the conceptualization of a piece and while I believe concept is important artists are at their core are creators not philosophers. And so I work with clay so that I may produce the same gestures but without the ready-mades, and instead with raw earth the most basic of elements.

-Closed System #1
10"x 10"x 5" - ^10 Wood fired Stoneware, Glaze. 11/09






-Closed System #3
1"x 16"x 18" - ^6 fired Earthenware, Red Iron Oxide (Fe₂O₃) wash. 12/09






-Closed System #2
4"x 8"x 4" - ^6 fired Stoneware, Glaze. 12/09