paper rock scissors

There is a direct relationship between artists' hands and minds that becomes a visual form of non-verbal communication between thought and action. An artist's coordination, between seeing and the gestures of creating, is often a balancing act that involves physical motion as much as thoughtful contemplation. Artists naturally experiment and play with materials and ideas before actually creating the finished work. Generally this is a complex process that includes an infinite variety of choices and materials. How artists select their format and medium can often be a random choice based on a gut reaction that may eventually lead to startling revelations about the concept of the work.

The artists in Paper Rock Scissors scrutinize the ordinary elements of our lives: family, gender, race, identity and language. Their thoughts span social issues regarding loss of culture and more intimate investigations about our domestic lives and the loss of family and tradition. Many of these artists collect remnants, the detritus of every-day-life. These objects and images are like relics that show the accumulated moments spent: first in gathering, preserving, and contemplating these materials, then in the time spent in the studio incorporating these materials into the art.

Many of these artists investigate this passing of time through the process of aging and decay, or by their actions. There is a sense of our own mortality inherent in making art that will last longer than our selves; many of the pieces address these issues by incorporating fleeting images, fragile papers, rust, and time-based performances or projects. Often this work has the power to induce strong emotions such as nostalgia, or trigger memories similar to the way certain smells recover a sense of place. Memories, like many ideas, are translucent and layered, often shifting out of focus or changing perspective as we grow.

Making art is often a series of gestures, rituals, and random acts leading to a final object that requires some further contemplation. This process can be both frustrating and fascinating, like starting out on a road trip with no itinerary. The work is certainly influenced by state of mind, physical well-being and countless other variables that all contribute to the finished piece. The studio becomes a laboratory of sorts where artists transmute these raw materials into a physical representation of one's ideas. In this respect, the process is similar to the search for the proverbial philosopher's stone.

Cheryl Coon , Curator