Myopia 2015 chalk pastel on paper 13x13"
Myopia (n) - a lack of foresight or discernment; a narrow view of something (merriam-webster.com)
This piece began as an experiment in point-of-view. I was curious to see what would happen to the space if I stood next to the wall and looked straight down at the baseboard. An intriguing reversal of forms occurred, where the floor became flat ("wall-like") while the wall suddenly described depth in a rather "floor-like" manner.
Chalk pastel has long been my favorite drawing medium. I find it to be the most painterly of the drawing options, and I repeatedly fall in love with its versatility. It can be a charmingly seductive material, once you get used to the inevitable clouds of dust and fine layer of chalk covering everything in sight.
The title of this piece, "Myopia," relates to its point of view as well as the tight composition. Most of the work in this "residue" series has been in square format. The square conjures associations of discrete units, pixels, or modules that can be stacked and combined in myriad ways. Each square, each pixel if you will, is but a part of a larger whole. Just as the viewer can only see a small section of the studio in each piece, so too does myopia infect our lives outside the studio. Perspective is a hard thing to find and harder still to cling to... but it is an essential part of finding balance. Finding beauty in this mundane studio detritus is one way of getting back to a more essential mindset and eliminating distractions within my own life.
