"I am for an art that takes its form from the lines of life, that twists and extends impossibly and accumulates and spits and drips, and is sweet and stupid as life itself." Claes Oldenburg

 

BIO

I am a writer and photographer who lives in the Leatherstocking region of Central New York. I teach writing and run the gallery space at SUNY Morrisville. Recent work includes curating “Changing Landscape” at the Earlville Opera House and creating “Floating” a video installation on the Hamilton Green. I have had solo shows in New York City and Palm Springs. I publish regularly in Mascular Magazine and other small journals and magazines. I have been a MacDowell Colony Fellow and Edward Albee Foundation Fellow. My education includes a PhD from Fordham University, an MFA from Brooklyn College, an MS from Southern CT State University, and a BS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

 

Artist Statement

Most of my work focuses on built culture and infrastructure—much of it below or beyond our line of sight and much of it built for our cars. We often miss even the most obvious elements of infrastructure as we cruise across the country or head out to grab a gallon of milk. Our cars encourage us to look towards our destination, our future. The familiar passes beyond the obvious and is forgotten. Spaces no longer economically viable (the past) decay around us as new structures get built beside them: an endless process. A photograph suspends that process.
 

I collect and edit; creating a narrative from ideas I see suggested in the photographs. On the wall, the narrative develops as fiction as the photographs build off each other and through the cultural lens of the viewer, who transfers meaning into the relatively straightforward photographs.

 

The ambiguious title of each portfolio suggests the ambiguity of the narrative. Details and conflicts help build a strong narrative, but I think it is important that when we look at photographs we acknowledge this basic contradiction: the specific details that we recognize help us see the photograph, but any apparent meaning is created. After the first look, I hope the viewer is always willing to ask “What don’t I know.”

 

All photos are available for purchase. Visit the contact page and send me an email.