WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.928 align:middle line:90% [OPENING NOTES] 00:00:03.928 --> 00:00:10.810 align:middle line:90% 00:00:10.810 --> 00:00:11.500 align:middle line:90% Welcome. 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:13.900 align:middle line:84% Thank you for joining us at today's program, 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:16.000 align:middle line:84% featuring Macha Suzuki, presented 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.670 align:middle line:84% as part of the Wignall Museum's Home Edition, 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:20.510 align:middle line:84% a series of curated artists talks, 00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:22.690 align:middle line:84% workshops, and discussions featuring 00:00:22.690 --> 00:00:24.530 align:middle line:90% artists and cultural workers. 00:00:24.530 --> 00:00:25.750 align:middle line:90% My name is Rebecca Trawick. 00:00:25.750 --> 00:00:28.720 align:middle line:84% I'm the director and curator of the Wignall Museum. 00:00:28.720 --> 00:00:32.000 align:middle line:84% The Wignall Museum is a teaching museum an interdisciplinary art 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:35.420 align:middle line:84% space that introduces Chaffey College students, faculty, 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:38.800 align:middle line:84% staff, and community members to innovative contemporary art 00:00:38.800 --> 00:00:40.720 align:middle line:90% objects and ideas. 00:00:40.720 --> 00:00:44.230 align:middle line:84% By fostering critical thinking, visual literacy, discourse, 00:00:44.230 --> 00:00:46.870 align:middle line:84% and empathy, the museum seeks to enhance 00:00:46.870 --> 00:00:50.090 align:middle line:84% the intellectual, cultural life of our community. 00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:52.660 align:middle line:84% We want to take a moment to recognize that we're situated 00:00:52.660 --> 00:00:56.140 align:middle line:84% on the Rancho Cucamonga Campus, Chaffey College, which 00:00:56.140 --> 00:00:59.080 align:middle line:84% resides on the traditional and unceded lands of the Tongva 00:00:59.080 --> 00:00:59.950 align:middle line:90% people. 00:00:59.950 --> 00:01:02.770 align:middle line:84% We offer our recognition and respect to the elders 00:01:02.770 --> 00:01:05.620 align:middle line:90% both past, present, and future. 00:01:05.620 --> 00:01:06.370 align:middle line:90% And hello. 00:01:06.370 --> 00:01:08.290 align:middle line:90% My name is Roman Stollenwerk. 00:01:08.290 --> 00:01:10.120 align:middle line:84% I'm assistant curator at the Wignall 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:12.220 align:middle line:90% Museum of Contemporary Art. 00:01:12.220 --> 00:01:14.830 align:middle line:84% Please note, we are recording all sessions of Home Edition. 00:01:14.830 --> 00:01:18.310 align:middle line:84% When possible, recordings are made available on our website. 00:01:18.310 --> 00:01:23.290 align:middle line:84% Visit us at www.chaffey.edu/wignall 00:01:23.290 --> 00:01:26.050 align:middle line:84% to access our full schedule of programs and available 00:01:26.050 --> 00:01:27.310 align:middle line:90% recordings. 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:29.350 align:middle line:84% Announcements we'll post our email subscribers 00:01:29.350 --> 00:01:32.260 align:middle line:84% and social media when new videos are available. 00:01:32.260 --> 00:01:34.810 align:middle line:84% All recordings on our site include captions and audio 00:01:34.810 --> 00:01:36.760 align:middle line:90% descriptions as options. 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:38.240 align:middle line:84% You can follow us on social media, 00:01:38.240 --> 00:01:41.950 align:middle line:84% including Facebook and Instagram, @wignallmuseum. 00:01:41.950 --> 00:01:44.920 align:middle line:84% We ask that you complete a brief survey after the session 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:48.040 align:middle line:84% at a tinyurl.com/wign allspring21visitorsurvey. 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:50.710 align:middle line:90% 00:01:50.710 --> 00:01:51.760 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:52.560 align:middle line:90% Hello, everyone. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:53.770 align:middle line:90% My name is Andy Hadle. 00:01:53.770 --> 00:01:56.140 align:middle line:84% I am the preparator at the museum. 00:01:56.140 --> 00:01:59.860 align:middle line:84% I'll be assisting Rebecca and Roman in today's Zoom session. 00:01:59.860 --> 00:02:04.120 align:middle line:84% In a moment, we'll have Macha Suzuki present for about a half 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.210 align:middle line:84% an hour or so, with the remaining time being available 00:02:07.210 --> 00:02:09.430 align:middle line:90% for Q&A. Thank you. 00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:10.210 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Andy. 00:02:10.210 --> 00:02:10.840 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Roman. 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:13.030 align:middle line:84% Today, I have the great honor of introducing you 00:02:13.030 --> 00:02:14.650 align:middle line:90% all to Macha Suzuki. 00:02:14.650 --> 00:02:16.810 align:middle line:84% We're so glad to have him here today. 00:02:16.810 --> 00:02:20.440 align:middle line:84% Macha was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1979. 00:02:20.440 --> 00:02:23.890 align:middle line:84% He immigrated to Los Angeles in 1988. 00:02:23.890 --> 00:02:28.060 align:middle line:84% He has an-- excuse me, an MFA from Claremont Graduate 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:32.380 align:middle line:84% University in sculpture and a BA in Studio Art with emphases 00:02:32.380 --> 00:02:37.090 align:middle line:84% in painting and photography from Asuza Pacific University. 00:02:37.090 --> 00:02:40.360 align:middle line:84% Suzuki has exhibited his work regularly for the past 12 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:44.810 align:middle line:84% years in museums and galleries, nationally and internationally. 00:02:44.810 --> 00:02:47.470 align:middle line:84% He was represented by Stanley Gallery, Los Angeles, 00:02:47.470 --> 00:02:50.050 align:middle line:84% for seven years, where he had two 00:02:50.050 --> 00:02:52.780 align:middle line:84% solo shows and a two-person show, 00:02:52.780 --> 00:02:55.930 align:middle line:84% until it closed its doors in 2013. 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:58.990 align:middle line:84% His other solo exhibitions include Wignall Museum 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:02.650 align:middle line:84% of Contemporary Art, Vincent Price Art Museum, Laguna Art 00:03:02.650 --> 00:03:07.210 align:middle line:84% Museum, Gallery at Larra Tokyo, Kravetz Wehby 00:03:07.210 --> 00:03:10.450 align:middle line:84% Gallery in New York City, Cypress Gallery, and Biola 00:03:10.450 --> 00:03:11.980 align:middle line:90% University. 00:03:11.980 --> 00:03:15.340 align:middle line:84% Suzuki has also taught art and design at various institutions 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:19.600 align:middle line:84% since 2005, and he is currently clinical assistant professor 00:03:19.600 --> 00:03:22.000 align:middle line:90% at Loyola Marymount University. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:25.000 align:middle line:84% He lives and works in Los Angeles, California. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.350 align:middle line:84% So please join me in giving Macha a warm virtual welcome. 00:03:29.350 --> 00:03:32.770 align:middle line:84% Thank you, Rebecca and Roman and Andy. 00:03:32.770 --> 00:03:39.130 align:middle line:84% And thank you guys for the years of support. 00:03:39.130 --> 00:03:44.950 align:middle line:84% I'm honored to be included in this lineup of this lecture 00:03:44.950 --> 00:03:45.880 align:middle line:90% series. 00:03:45.880 --> 00:03:50.380 align:middle line:84% And, yeah, so I'm going way back in time. 00:03:50.380 --> 00:03:56.440 align:middle line:84% This image you're seeing now is from my MFA thesis exhibition. 00:03:56.440 --> 00:04:00.160 align:middle line:84% And it's really fun to see so many faces 00:04:00.160 --> 00:04:01.430 align:middle line:90% and names that I recognize. 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:04.660 align:middle line:90% So thanks again. 00:04:04.660 --> 00:04:08.830 align:middle line:84% So this first piece is from 2007. 00:04:08.830 --> 00:04:10.690 align:middle line:90% It's called Fortunately. 00:04:10.690 --> 00:04:14.510 align:middle line:84% Mixed media, 28 by 26 by 18 inches. 00:04:14.510 --> 00:04:19.810 align:middle line:84% So my wife worked as a caretaker for this elderly woman 00:04:19.810 --> 00:04:25.120 align:middle line:84% named Diana who was fighting Alzheimer's disease. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:28.540 align:middle line:84% And we got to know her pretty well for the last couple 00:04:28.540 --> 00:04:31.150 align:middle line:90% of years of her life. 00:04:31.150 --> 00:04:34.940 align:middle line:84% And so my wife was there to help take care of her. 00:04:34.940 --> 00:04:39.830 align:middle line:84% When she passed away, her family organized a celebration of life 00:04:39.830 --> 00:04:40.670 align:middle line:90% at a restaurant. 00:04:40.670 --> 00:04:47.150 align:middle line:84% And for the first time, we met people 00:04:47.150 --> 00:04:51.410 align:middle line:84% who knew Diana and who had really amazing stories 00:04:51.410 --> 00:04:52.730 align:middle line:90% about her. 00:04:52.730 --> 00:04:56.630 align:middle line:84% People who were impacted by her in her life. 00:04:56.630 --> 00:05:01.780 align:middle line:84% And it was just this really rich experience for us. 00:05:01.780 --> 00:05:05.920 align:middle line:90% 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:07.610 align:middle line:84% So they all told stories of how great 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:09.730 align:middle line:84% she was and all the accomplishments 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:11.810 align:middle line:90% and what she meant to them. 00:05:11.810 --> 00:05:14.830 align:middle line:84% And I realized that she was so much more 00:05:14.830 --> 00:05:20.290 align:middle line:84% than just this elderly woman who was slowly declining. 00:05:20.290 --> 00:05:25.060 align:middle line:84% And we got to be blessed by all of the things 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:27.520 align:middle line:90% that we learned about her. 00:05:27.520 --> 00:05:31.270 align:middle line:84% This piece is about that and about legacies 00:05:31.270 --> 00:05:35.050 align:middle line:84% that we leave behind when we close chapters in life. 00:05:35.050 --> 00:05:38.160 align:middle line:90% 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:43.670 align:middle line:84% And as I'm growing older and deeper into my artist's career 00:05:43.670 --> 00:05:46.590 align:middle line:84% and as my kids are growing older as well, 00:05:46.590 --> 00:05:49.460 align:middle line:84% I'm thinking more about what my legacy might 00:05:49.460 --> 00:06:00.360 align:middle line:84% be for my own work as an artist and also as just a human being. 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:05.460 align:middle line:84% What I want people to remember about me, 00:06:05.460 --> 00:06:08.300 align:middle line:84% or what are those stories that they're going to tell. 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:10.980 align:middle line:90% 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:14.430 align:middle line:84% So I titled this talk Bedtime Stories of Failure, 00:06:14.430 --> 00:06:18.060 align:middle line:90% Macha Suzuki, Xs and Os. 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:22.020 align:middle line:84% One of the recurring themes in my work for the past decade 00:06:22.020 --> 00:06:26.940 align:middle line:84% or so has been this idea of failure. 00:06:26.940 --> 00:06:30.030 align:middle line:84% Not as something that is exclusively negative, 00:06:30.030 --> 00:06:33.150 align:middle line:84% but rather as something to be celebrated. 00:06:33.150 --> 00:06:35.340 align:middle line:84% As something that will make you wiser, 00:06:35.340 --> 00:06:39.205 align:middle line:84% something that will help you to build character, something 00:06:39.205 --> 00:06:40.455 align:middle line:90% that will help you to succeed. 00:06:40.455 --> 00:06:48.650 align:middle line:90% 00:06:48.650 --> 00:06:51.800 align:middle line:84% This is called Minor Threat from 2008. 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:56.030 align:middle line:90% 67 by 115 by 115 inches. 00:06:56.030 --> 00:06:58.220 align:middle line:84% It's a slightly larger than life sheep 00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:01.430 align:middle line:90% made of cheerleading pompoms. 00:07:01.430 --> 00:07:03.830 align:middle line:84% And it's surrounded by colorful arrows that 00:07:03.830 --> 00:07:06.440 align:middle line:90% are suspended from the ceiling. 00:07:06.440 --> 00:07:08.570 align:middle line:84% There are two arrows that have pierced the sheep, 00:07:08.570 --> 00:07:10.640 align:middle line:84% and instead of bleeding, the coat 00:07:10.640 --> 00:07:14.300 align:middle line:84% of the sheep where the arrows have struck 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:18.270 align:middle line:84% is turning into the color of the arrow. 00:07:18.270 --> 00:07:21.270 align:middle line:84% So the next moment when all the arrows have hit the sheep, 00:07:21.270 --> 00:07:25.950 align:middle line:84% the idea is that instead of it bleeding out and dying, 00:07:25.950 --> 00:07:29.070 align:middle line:84% it's going to turn into this really colorful, really 00:07:29.070 --> 00:07:32.580 align:middle line:90% iconic beautiful being. 00:07:32.580 --> 00:07:34.260 align:middle line:90% Full of color, full of life. 00:07:34.260 --> 00:07:38.500 align:middle line:90% 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:39.000 align:middle line:90% Weird. 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:42.530 align:middle line:90% 00:07:42.530 --> 00:07:45.300 align:middle line:84% So the arrows, they represent hardships in life, 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:51.140 align:middle line:84% including moments of failure, which seems to be unavoidable. 00:07:51.140 --> 00:07:55.900 align:middle line:84% You often can't control those arrows, what comes your way. 00:07:55.900 --> 00:07:58.130 align:middle line:84% But what you can control is the way in which 00:07:58.130 --> 00:08:00.680 align:middle line:90% you respond to these arrows. 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:02.600 align:middle line:84% You can let these arrows make you bleed out 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:04.940 align:middle line:90% or knock you down. 00:08:04.940 --> 00:08:07.160 align:middle line:84% Or you can also allow these arrows 00:08:07.160 --> 00:08:11.180 align:middle line:84% to help you become a better version of yourself. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:14.150 align:middle line:84% You can become wiser, right, through these experiences. 00:08:14.150 --> 00:08:16.650 align:middle line:84% You can become more compassionate, 00:08:16.650 --> 00:08:19.100 align:middle line:90% more understanding, et cetera. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:22.930 align:middle line:84% And the scars become beauty marks 00:08:22.930 --> 00:08:25.600 align:middle line:84% that make you more beautiful than you were before. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:29.820 align:middle line:90% 00:08:29.820 --> 00:08:36.650 align:middle line:84% Here's a detailed shot of where the arrow strikes the sheep. 00:08:36.650 --> 00:08:40.140 align:middle line:90% 00:08:40.140 --> 00:08:44.310 align:middle line:84% This piece is called Death and Rebirth from 2009. 00:08:44.310 --> 00:08:50.340 align:middle line:84% It's a mixed media, life-sized dead body self-portrait. 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:53.970 align:middle line:84% So I'm about 5'9" on a good day, so that's about the size 00:08:53.970 --> 00:08:56.130 align:middle line:90% of the sculpture. 00:08:56.130 --> 00:08:57.870 align:middle line:84% This piece started with a conversation 00:08:57.870 --> 00:09:00.540 align:middle line:84% I had with a friend whose wife had just 00:09:00.540 --> 00:09:04.170 align:middle line:84% given birth to their first baby, first little boy. 00:09:04.170 --> 00:09:06.660 align:middle line:84% And I asked him, I asked my buddy 00:09:06.660 --> 00:09:12.610 align:middle line:84% what it was like to anticipate the arrival of this new life. 00:09:12.610 --> 00:09:14.460 align:middle line:84% And I just had a lot of questions 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:17.650 align:middle line:84% like, what is it so exciting anticipating it? 00:09:17.650 --> 00:09:23.340 align:middle line:84% And he said that, yes, it was very exciting. 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:26.490 align:middle line:84% But also at the same time, it was sad. 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:30.570 align:middle line:84% And he explained that he was simultaneously 00:09:30.570 --> 00:09:34.460 align:middle line:84% excited for the arrival of the child, 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:39.940 align:middle line:84% but also sad to no longer be this carefree person who 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:41.830 align:middle line:90% had fewer responsibilities. 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:47.680 align:middle line:84% I mean, he liked being married with no kids. 00:09:47.680 --> 00:09:51.820 align:middle line:84% He had to mourn the loss, right, of his old self. 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.050 align:middle line:84% And which I thought was really interesting, 00:09:54.050 --> 00:09:56.330 align:middle line:90% and I loved his honesty. 00:09:56.330 --> 00:10:00.790 align:middle line:84% And it resonated with me, and I said, I felt that when I got 00:10:00.790 --> 00:10:01.870 align:middle line:90% married. 00:10:01.870 --> 00:10:06.010 align:middle line:84% On one hand, I was really happy and excited to spend the rest 00:10:06.010 --> 00:10:09.710 align:middle line:90% of my life with my wife. 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:13.230 align:middle line:90% But I also liked being single. 00:10:13.230 --> 00:10:15.980 align:middle line:90% I like being not married. 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:23.670 align:middle line:84% And so this piece touches on that idea. 00:10:23.670 --> 00:10:27.870 align:middle line:84% So there's a crack in the chest of the lying figure. 00:10:27.870 --> 00:10:30.470 align:middle line:84% And if you look inside, you'll see two hands 00:10:30.470 --> 00:10:33.620 align:middle line:90% trying to pry open the chest-- 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:35.600 align:middle line:90% the cavity from the inside. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:37.640 align:middle line:84% And there's also another face on the inside 00:10:37.640 --> 00:10:40.250 align:middle line:84% if you look down into the opening. 00:10:40.250 --> 00:10:43.700 align:middle line:84% And the face is trying to squeeze out. 00:10:43.700 --> 00:10:48.200 align:middle line:84% And from the open mouth of the face on the inside, 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:51.350 align:middle line:84% the cords, the colorful cords, are coming out. 00:10:51.350 --> 00:10:53.000 align:middle line:84% I wanted to portray the dead body 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:55.550 align:middle line:90% as this really beautiful form. 00:10:55.550 --> 00:10:59.150 align:middle line:84% Because the things we leave behind when big changes occur, 00:10:59.150 --> 00:11:01.430 align:middle line:84% sometimes you're leaving good and beautiful things. 00:11:01.430 --> 00:11:07.300 align:middle line:90% 00:11:07.300 --> 00:11:10.810 align:middle line:84% And the body emerging from within is devoid of any color, 00:11:10.810 --> 00:11:12.940 align:middle line:84% because even though it represents 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:17.080 align:middle line:84% new and perhaps better, it's still yet to be discovered. 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:17.980 align:middle line:90% It's still unknown. 00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:24.690 align:middle line:90% 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:29.790 align:middle line:84% Permission to Fail, 2010, steel wire, aluminum foil, 00:11:29.790 --> 00:11:33.090 align:middle line:84% floral tape, yarn, inkjet transparencies. 00:11:33.090 --> 00:11:36.640 align:middle line:90% 90 by 116 by 20 inches. 00:11:36.640 --> 00:11:38.700 align:middle line:84% So this piece comes out of an observation 00:11:38.700 --> 00:11:42.600 align:middle line:84% I had from people in my life, including myself. 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:48.000 align:middle line:84% I realized that people around me were just settling in life-- 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.760 align:middle line:84% settling for less than what they deserve or less 00:11:50.760 --> 00:11:53.670 align:middle line:84% than what they want or less than what they're 00:11:53.670 --> 00:11:57.690 align:middle line:90% capable of Because of fear. 00:11:57.690 --> 00:11:59.710 align:middle line:90% Fear of failure. 00:11:59.710 --> 00:12:05.970 align:middle line:84% So this piece is a call to you from the universe to fail. 00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:07.470 align:middle line:84% Giving yourself permission to fail 00:12:07.470 --> 00:12:11.070 align:middle line:84% will allow you to take bigger risks, which will help 00:12:11.070 --> 00:12:13.920 align:middle line:90% you to reach bigger successes. 00:12:13.920 --> 00:12:16.380 align:middle line:84% You can only understand the true meaning of success 00:12:16.380 --> 00:12:19.675 align:middle line:84% when you are able to accept the possibilities of failure. 00:12:19.675 --> 00:12:23.310 align:middle line:90% 00:12:23.310 --> 00:12:24.250 align:middle line:90% Here's a detail. 00:12:24.250 --> 00:12:26.940 align:middle line:84% So the leaves are made out of inkjet transparencies 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:31.860 align:middle line:84% that I just printed on my inkjet printer. 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.350 align:middle line:84% In the right lighting, the leaves 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:37.940 align:middle line:84% will cast the color onto the wall. 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:41.170 align:middle line:90% 00:12:41.170 --> 00:12:43.000 align:middle line:84% So we've all heard of the saying, 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:47.950 align:middle line:84% if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. 00:12:47.950 --> 00:12:52.810 align:middle line:84% What happens if you don't succeed after that? 00:12:52.810 --> 00:12:55.670 align:middle line:90% And then you try it again. 00:12:55.670 --> 00:12:59.920 align:middle line:84% But then what happens if you still don't succeed? 00:12:59.920 --> 00:13:01.810 align:middle line:90% I guess you try again, right. 00:13:01.810 --> 00:13:04.690 align:middle line:84% And you keep going through this endless cycle 00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:05.800 align:middle line:90% of trying and failing. 00:13:05.800 --> 00:13:10.100 align:middle line:90% 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:13.820 align:middle line:84% If you keep trying and missing and trying and missing, 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:17.990 align:middle line:84% eventually that repetition starts to hold value. 00:13:17.990 --> 00:13:21.140 align:middle line:90% It starts to mean something. 00:13:21.140 --> 00:13:24.680 align:middle line:84% This piece is called Nice Try from 2010. 00:13:24.680 --> 00:13:28.400 align:middle line:90% MDF wooden dowels, enamel paint. 00:13:28.400 --> 00:13:33.880 align:middle line:84% 45 and 1/2 by 45 and 1/2 by 21 inches. 00:13:33.880 --> 00:13:37.040 align:middle line:84% It recognizes that life is not always 00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:40.290 align:middle line:90% about hitting the bullseye. 00:13:40.290 --> 00:13:44.210 align:middle line:84% It's often about the effort and the desire to hit the bullseye. 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:47.600 align:middle line:84% And the things you gain from missing the bullseye. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:52.500 align:middle line:84% It's about the journey rather than the destination. 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:54.380 align:middle line:84% So this is a target where none of the arrows 00:13:54.380 --> 00:13:55.220 align:middle line:90% have hit the mark. 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:59.390 align:middle line:84% Instead, the arrows make this beautiful radial design. 00:13:59.390 --> 00:14:03.290 align:middle line:84% As a target practice, it's a complete failure. 00:14:03.290 --> 00:14:06.590 align:middle line:84% But as an object, it's perhaps more beautiful because 00:14:06.590 --> 00:14:07.715 align:middle line:90% of the failure. 00:14:07.715 --> 00:14:11.650 align:middle line:90% 00:14:11.650 --> 00:14:14.550 align:middle line:84% This is a piece called Blessings in the Skies. 00:14:14.550 --> 00:14:16.200 align:middle line:90% See what I did there? 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:17.970 align:middle line:90% From 2010. 00:14:17.970 --> 00:14:22.350 align:middle line:84% MDF, epoxy clay, enamel paint, lights. 00:14:22.350 --> 00:14:25.170 align:middle line:90% 5 and 1/2 by 43 by 21 inches. 00:14:25.170 --> 00:14:27.240 align:middle line:84% So as you know, living in and around LA, 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:29.070 align:middle line:90% you've hit a lot of traffic. 00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:33.540 align:middle line:90% And this piece started with-- 00:14:33.540 --> 00:14:36.060 align:middle line:90% it starts with a story. 00:14:36.060 --> 00:14:41.430 align:middle line:84% My wife and I were stuck in traffic, in rush hour traffic, 00:14:41.430 --> 00:14:43.380 align:middle line:90% trying to get out of LA. 00:14:43.380 --> 00:14:46.380 align:middle line:84% We were on the 101 heading north. 00:14:46.380 --> 00:14:49.830 align:middle line:84% We were trying to catch a concert in Santa Barbara. 00:14:49.830 --> 00:14:54.120 align:middle line:84% And we were arguing about something. 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.300 align:middle line:84% And there was just a lot of tension in the car. 00:14:57.300 --> 00:15:01.170 align:middle line:84% We were both irritated that we weren't moving. 00:15:01.170 --> 00:15:05.010 align:middle line:84% And off in the distance, ahead of us, 00:15:05.010 --> 00:15:08.650 align:middle line:84% I see this little tiny line in the sky. 00:15:08.650 --> 00:15:12.120 align:middle line:84% And as time went on, it just started 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:13.800 align:middle line:90% to get bigger and bigger. 00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:18.540 align:middle line:84% And we realized that it was a formation 00:15:18.540 --> 00:15:22.620 align:middle line:84% of birds that were approaching us from way far away. 00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:30.420 align:middle line:84% And it probably took a minute for the birds to fly over us. 00:15:30.420 --> 00:15:32.400 align:middle line:84% But during the minute, we were just 00:15:32.400 --> 00:15:35.040 align:middle line:84% mesmerized by what we were seeing. 00:15:35.040 --> 00:15:38.040 align:middle line:84% It was just this perfect line of birds. 00:15:38.040 --> 00:15:42.270 align:middle line:84% And during that minute, we just stopped. 00:15:42.270 --> 00:15:43.440 align:middle line:90% We stopped arguing. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:47.330 align:middle line:84% We stopped feeling bad about ourselves. 00:15:47.330 --> 00:15:51.360 align:middle line:84% And we just let this thing happen 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.270 align:middle line:90% and let us be blessed by it. 00:15:54.270 --> 00:15:59.520 align:middle line:84% And once the birds flew over us, we were good. 00:15:59.520 --> 00:16:01.840 align:middle line:90% We weren't arguing anymore. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:07.440 align:middle line:90% It just changed the whole mood. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:12.030 align:middle line:84% So I guess this is a piece that is about not being 00:16:12.030 --> 00:16:14.010 align:middle line:90% able to do life all alone. 00:16:14.010 --> 00:16:17.100 align:middle line:84% Accepting the fact that you need to rely on others to fly, 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:19.290 align:middle line:84% and they need to rely on you as well. 00:16:19.290 --> 00:16:22.000 align:middle line:90% 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.370 align:middle line:84% It's about imperfect people supporting one another 00:16:24.370 --> 00:16:27.150 align:middle line:90% to elevate each other. 00:16:27.150 --> 00:16:30.500 align:middle line:84% So there are colored lights inside of the bodies 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:34.970 align:middle line:84% of the birds that illuminate the ceiling with this blue light. 00:16:34.970 --> 00:16:36.710 align:middle line:84% And it's supposed to reference the sky. 00:16:36.710 --> 00:16:42.290 align:middle line:90% 00:16:42.290 --> 00:16:47.370 align:middle line:84% This piece is called Lost Again from 2012. 00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:49.080 align:middle line:90% Made out of fiberglass. 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:53.310 align:middle line:84% 5 and 3/8 by 67 by 2 and 1/2 inches. 00:16:53.310 --> 00:16:56.040 align:middle line:84% I carved a piece of four by six and then made 00:16:56.040 --> 00:16:57.930 align:middle line:90% a silicone mold of it. 00:16:57.930 --> 00:17:01.740 align:middle line:84% And then I cast it in fiberglass and resin. 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:05.099 align:middle line:84% So it looks like wood, even up close. 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:06.810 align:middle line:84% I was thinking about those woodcarvers 00:17:06.810 --> 00:17:13.410 align:middle line:84% you would see at Six Flags or county fairs that make really 00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:16.109 align:middle line:84% cool wooden signs that you can put in your house 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:18.300 align:middle line:90% as decoration. 00:17:18.300 --> 00:17:22.109 align:middle line:84% And usually people put their names or words 00:17:22.109 --> 00:17:25.690 align:middle line:90% like family or love or home. 00:17:25.690 --> 00:17:29.140 align:middle line:90% Or something cheesy. 00:17:29.140 --> 00:17:32.280 align:middle line:90% But this is my version of it. 00:17:32.280 --> 00:17:37.470 align:middle line:84% So maybe at first glance, it may look like a defeatist idea. 00:17:37.470 --> 00:17:39.660 align:middle line:90% It's says "lost again." 00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:41.970 align:middle line:84% but the phrase lost again has a few undertones 00:17:41.970 --> 00:17:44.970 align:middle line:90% that I really like. 00:17:44.970 --> 00:17:48.930 align:middle line:84% Lost again means that this isn't the first time you've lost. 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:53.280 align:middle line:84% It means that you fought again, even though you've already 00:17:53.280 --> 00:17:55.470 align:middle line:84% experienced that loss in the past. 00:17:55.470 --> 00:17:59.490 align:middle line:90% 00:17:59.490 --> 00:18:01.680 align:middle line:84% Somehow you muster up the courage 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.890 align:middle line:84% to go out and fight even though you 00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:07.320 align:middle line:90% know what it's like to lose. 00:18:07.320 --> 00:18:10.260 align:middle line:90% And that means something. 00:18:10.260 --> 00:18:14.960 align:middle line:84% That perseverance is something to be proud of. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:17.230 align:middle line:84% So this piece is a reminder that there's 00:18:17.230 --> 00:18:20.200 align:middle line:84% no shame in fighting a good fight and losing. 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:21.390 align:middle line:90% In fact, it's a virtue. 00:18:21.390 --> 00:18:25.580 align:middle line:90% 00:18:25.580 --> 00:18:29.270 align:middle line:84% This is called Still Burning from 2012. 00:18:29.270 --> 00:18:34.370 align:middle line:84% Cast ground limestone, resin, enamel paint, colored light. 00:18:34.370 --> 00:18:37.710 align:middle line:90% 8 and 1/2 by 30 by 30 inches. 00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:40.610 align:middle line:84% So similar process to the previous piece. 00:18:40.610 --> 00:18:45.350 align:middle line:84% I took a couple of fire logs, and I set it on fire 00:18:45.350 --> 00:18:47.930 align:middle line:90% on one side, let it burn. 00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:51.890 align:middle line:84% And then I put it out and I made a mold and casted them. 00:18:51.890 --> 00:18:58.260 align:middle line:84% So it's only two different fire logs that have been casted. 00:18:58.260 --> 00:18:59.840 align:middle line:90% And it's repeated. 00:18:59.840 --> 00:19:02.165 align:middle line:84% So it gives it this artificial feel. 00:19:02.165 --> 00:19:05.390 align:middle line:90% 00:19:05.390 --> 00:19:07.670 align:middle line:90% Like old 8-bit video games. 00:19:07.670 --> 00:19:09.020 align:middle line:90% All the trees look the same. 00:19:09.020 --> 00:19:12.290 align:middle line:90% That kind of artificiality. 00:19:12.290 --> 00:19:14.180 align:middle line:84% So this comes out of a time when I was 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:18.330 align:middle line:90% experiencing burnout in life. 00:19:18.330 --> 00:19:22.310 align:middle line:84% I just didn't want to do it anymore, whatever it was. 00:19:22.310 --> 00:19:25.370 align:middle line:84% When everything seemed to fall apart, 00:19:25.370 --> 00:19:28.510 align:middle line:84% recognizing that there was still embers waiting to be found. 00:19:28.510 --> 00:19:32.630 align:middle line:90% 00:19:32.630 --> 00:19:36.200 align:middle line:84% So it's about hope in the midst of despair. 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:39.110 align:middle line:84% It's about choosing to believe that better days are ahead. 00:19:39.110 --> 00:19:44.720 align:middle line:90% 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:48.500 align:middle line:90% This is called Huddle from 2012. 00:19:48.500 --> 00:19:50.880 align:middle line:90% Mixed media. 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:54.800 align:middle line:84% So these are 11 life-sized self-portraits 00:19:54.800 --> 00:19:59.210 align:middle line:84% cast in packaging tape and clothed in clothes 00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:02.510 align:middle line:90% that I would wear. 00:20:02.510 --> 00:20:05.960 align:middle line:90% So they look like me. 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:09.740 align:middle line:84% So when I became a parent in 2011, 00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:14.120 align:middle line:84% I immediately became this person with different new rules, 00:20:14.120 --> 00:20:18.470 align:middle line:84% right, that I had never assumed in the past. 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:21.710 align:middle line:84% All of a sudden, I was a protector of my kid. 00:20:21.710 --> 00:20:26.450 align:middle line:84% Provider, a teacher, nurturer, et cetera, et cetera. 00:20:26.450 --> 00:20:28.610 align:middle line:90% My entire life changed. 00:20:28.610 --> 00:20:33.650 align:middle line:84% And if you've had kids, you must know what it's like. 00:20:33.650 --> 00:20:36.930 align:middle line:84% So this is a piece that touches on that. 00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:41.300 align:middle line:84% And so even in making everyday decisions in my life, 00:20:41.300 --> 00:20:47.010 align:middle line:84% I was considering first the well-being of my daughter. 00:20:47.010 --> 00:20:51.020 align:middle line:84% And so this piece portrays my decision-making process. 00:20:51.020 --> 00:20:55.460 align:middle line:84% It's a portrayal of myself split into my new roles as 00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:59.060 align:middle line:84% different-- wearing different hats. 00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:02.600 align:middle line:84% And they're consulting each other in a huddle 00:21:02.600 --> 00:21:06.380 align:middle line:90% or maybe even a prayer circle. 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:09.370 align:middle line:90% 00:21:09.370 --> 00:21:14.230 align:middle line:84% There's a quarterback figure in blue who's holding a clipboard. 00:21:14.230 --> 00:21:16.480 align:middle line:84% And in the clipboard is a drawing 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:21.220 align:middle line:84% that my daughter made when she was just a baby still. 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:25.390 align:middle line:84% So it's just these lines and marks that she made. 00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:29.420 align:middle line:84% And the 11 are seriously putting their heads together, 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:32.710 align:middle line:84% trying to figure out and decipher what the drawing is 00:21:32.710 --> 00:21:37.630 align:middle line:84% all about in order to form a plan, right, 00:21:37.630 --> 00:21:39.190 align:middle line:90% to inform their next move. 00:21:39.190 --> 00:21:44.580 align:middle line:90% 00:21:44.580 --> 00:21:47.610 align:middle line:84% This is called This Is The End from 2012. 00:21:47.610 --> 00:21:49.950 align:middle line:90% Fiberglass, resin, enamel paint. 00:21:49.950 --> 00:21:53.020 align:middle line:90% 36 by 24 by three inches. 00:21:53.020 --> 00:21:57.060 align:middle line:84% So I had a show at Laguna Art Museum in 2012. 00:21:57.060 --> 00:21:59.550 align:middle line:84% And if you remember, it was the year 00:21:59.550 --> 00:22:02.430 align:middle line:84% that the Mayan calendar was going to end. 00:22:02.430 --> 00:22:06.860 align:middle line:84% And so there was a lot of talk about the end of the world. 00:22:06.860 --> 00:22:11.490 align:middle line:84% And when I was given the show schedule from the museum, 00:22:11.490 --> 00:22:15.610 align:middle line:84% I noticed that my show spanned through the end of the world 00:22:15.610 --> 00:22:17.460 align:middle line:90% day. 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:21.090 align:middle line:84% My show ended after the world ended. 00:22:21.090 --> 00:22:22.980 align:middle line:90% Which I thought was so funny. 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:26.520 align:middle line:84% And, I mean, I still think it's funny. 00:22:26.520 --> 00:22:32.710 align:middle line:84% And so I started thinking a lot about the end. 00:22:32.710 --> 00:22:35.250 align:middle line:84% The end of the world, the end of something. 00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:40.050 align:middle line:84% And I started making work that dealt with that idea. 00:22:40.050 --> 00:22:42.490 align:middle line:90% This was one of them. 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:45.900 align:middle line:84% And it also became the working title for the exhibition. 00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:51.180 align:middle line:84% But I'm thinking about the end as a beginning of something 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:51.680 align:middle line:90% new. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:56.000 align:middle line:90% 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.120 align:middle line:90% This is a piece called Hey, Low. 00:22:58.120 --> 00:23:04.390 align:middle line:84% It's spelled H-E-Y, comma, L-O-W. It's a play on the word. 00:23:04.390 --> 00:23:06.850 align:middle line:90% Mixed media on wood. 00:23:06.850 --> 00:23:09.760 align:middle line:90% 60 by 60 inches. 00:23:09.760 --> 00:23:10.930 align:middle line:90% From 2014. 00:23:10.930 --> 00:23:12.610 align:middle line:84% I call this my landscape painting. 00:23:12.610 --> 00:23:15.340 align:middle line:90% 00:23:15.340 --> 00:23:20.260 align:middle line:84% The halo is made up of tiny sheep walking in a big circle. 00:23:20.260 --> 00:23:25.150 align:middle line:84% So this piece is about experiencing low points in life 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:30.280 align:middle line:84% and how during that time, at the time you're going through it, 00:23:30.280 --> 00:23:34.510 align:middle line:84% all you can do is maybe focus on taking one step after another, 00:23:34.510 --> 00:23:37.630 align:middle line:84% hoping you're going in the right direction. 00:23:37.630 --> 00:23:40.360 align:middle line:84% Yet sometimes it feels like you're just walking in circles. 00:23:40.360 --> 00:23:42.970 align:middle line:90% 00:23:42.970 --> 00:23:46.960 align:middle line:84% Later on in life, you look back at this season of struggle 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:50.530 align:middle line:84% and realize that the hardship that you experienced 00:23:50.530 --> 00:23:54.670 align:middle line:84% was essential in order for you to become who you've become. 00:23:54.670 --> 00:23:56.740 align:middle line:84% And suddenly, this season becomes 00:23:56.740 --> 00:23:59.140 align:middle line:90% one that is really important. 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:02.890 align:middle line:90% Maybe even sacred to you. 00:24:02.890 --> 00:24:07.330 align:middle line:84% One that was necessary for you to become who you've become. 00:24:07.330 --> 00:24:15.100 align:middle line:90% 00:24:15.100 --> 00:24:17.980 align:middle line:90% This is an untitled piece. 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:24.070 align:middle line:84% It's a piece of leather stained and carved from 2014. 00:24:24.070 --> 00:24:26.100 align:middle line:90% 57 by 36 inches. 00:24:26.100 --> 00:24:31.560 align:middle line:84% So my work deals with my own experiences and stories 00:24:31.560 --> 00:24:32.470 align:middle line:90% from my own life. 00:24:32.470 --> 00:24:36.220 align:middle line:84% So sometimes they portray my family. 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.370 align:middle line:84% My daughter was born in the year of the rabbit. 00:24:38.370 --> 00:24:41.370 align:middle line:90% My son in the year of the snake. 00:24:41.370 --> 00:24:45.690 align:middle line:84% So the rabbit and the snake are working together in this image, 00:24:45.690 --> 00:24:49.260 align:middle line:84% protecting each other, doing life together, 00:24:49.260 --> 00:24:52.380 align:middle line:90% taking on the world out there. 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:58.560 align:middle line:84% And it's what every parent hopes for, right, I think. 00:24:58.560 --> 00:25:02.650 align:middle line:90% Here's another of that series. 00:25:02.650 --> 00:25:05.340 align:middle line:84% So when I was in elementary school, 00:25:05.340 --> 00:25:08.670 align:middle line:84% we made these drawings on distressed brown paper 00:25:08.670 --> 00:25:12.690 align:middle line:84% bags, torn and stained to look like animal hide. 00:25:12.690 --> 00:25:15.630 align:middle line:84% And I was taught that Native American people 00:25:15.630 --> 00:25:18.390 align:middle line:84% would make these drawings on animal 00:25:18.390 --> 00:25:21.210 align:middle line:90% hide to record their life. 00:25:21.210 --> 00:25:29.130 align:middle line:84% So this is my version of it, recording my family, my life, 00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:29.870 align:middle line:90% what's going on. 00:25:29.870 --> 00:25:32.710 align:middle line:90% 00:25:32.710 --> 00:25:35.800 align:middle line:90% Here's a detail of the carving. 00:25:35.800 --> 00:25:37.900 align:middle line:90% So I have this-- 00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:43.930 align:middle line:84% it's a leather tooling tool that gouges out 00:25:43.930 --> 00:25:45.250 align:middle line:90% the surface of the leather. 00:25:45.250 --> 00:25:47.920 align:middle line:90% 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.190 align:middle line:84% This is a piece called F Minus from 2015. 00:25:51.190 --> 00:25:54.050 align:middle line:84% Mixed media on wood, 12 by 12 inches. 00:25:54.050 --> 00:25:57.520 align:middle line:84% So I teach at Loyola Marymount University. 00:25:57.520 --> 00:25:59.740 align:middle line:84% And I often joke with my students 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:01.330 align:middle line:90% about the F minus grade. 00:26:01.330 --> 00:26:06.610 align:middle line:84% I haven't done it in a while, because it's insensitive, 00:26:06.610 --> 00:26:10.210 align:middle line:84% I think, so I don't joke about their grades. 00:26:10.210 --> 00:26:13.630 align:middle line:84% But whenever they do something silly or something messed up, 00:26:13.630 --> 00:26:16.930 align:middle line:84% jokingly I tell them that I'm going to give them an F minus-- 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:18.520 align:middle line:90% which is not a thing. 00:26:18.520 --> 00:26:20.410 align:middle line:84% So this piece is about drawing life 00:26:20.410 --> 00:26:22.900 align:middle line:90% from those moments of failure. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:24.610 align:middle line:84% Recognizing that there are many things 00:26:24.610 --> 00:26:27.415 align:middle line:90% to be gained from those moments. 00:26:27.415 --> 00:26:30.070 align:middle line:90% 00:26:30.070 --> 00:26:33.730 align:middle line:84% There are F minus shaped ponds, or puddles, rather. 00:26:33.730 --> 00:26:37.407 align:middle line:84% And the sheep are being nourished by the water in them. 00:26:37.407 --> 00:26:42.880 align:middle line:90% 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.860 align:middle line:84% This piece is called This Is Our Prayer. 00:26:46.860 --> 00:26:49.620 align:middle line:84% In parentheses, We're Leaving Together. 00:26:49.620 --> 00:26:51.390 align:middle line:90% From 2017. 00:26:51.390 --> 00:26:55.470 align:middle line:90% Mixed media and a church pew. 00:26:55.470 --> 00:26:59.530 align:middle line:90% 60 and 1/2 by 34 by 32 inches. 00:26:59.530 --> 00:27:03.150 align:middle line:84% This piece started with an email from the church I was going to. 00:27:03.150 --> 00:27:07.210 align:middle line:90% 00:27:07.210 --> 00:27:08.770 align:middle line:90% So they were remodeling. 00:27:08.770 --> 00:27:12.610 align:middle line:84% They were going from pews, traditional pews, 00:27:12.610 --> 00:27:15.310 align:middle line:84% to chairs in their main sanctuary 00:27:15.310 --> 00:27:19.270 align:middle line:84% so that they can accommodate more events. 00:27:19.270 --> 00:27:21.790 align:middle line:84% So they were trying to get rid of these pews, 00:27:21.790 --> 00:27:24.400 align:middle line:84% and they tried to sell them first, 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:26.440 align:middle line:90% I think, and nobody wanted them. 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:28.240 align:middle line:84% They tried to give them away, and it 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.280 align:middle line:90% was hard to get rid of them. 00:27:30.280 --> 00:27:33.310 align:middle line:84% So they did an email blast saying, anybody 00:27:33.310 --> 00:27:35.530 align:middle line:90% who wants it can take one. 00:27:35.530 --> 00:27:36.640 align:middle line:90% And I contemplated. 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:38.200 align:middle line:90% I went back and forth. 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:40.150 align:middle line:84% But then I decided not to take it. 00:27:40.150 --> 00:27:43.190 align:middle line:84% And then another email came weeks later, saying, 00:27:43.190 --> 00:27:44.920 align:middle line:90% OK, we have just one left. 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:45.780 align:middle line:90% Any takers? 00:27:45.780 --> 00:27:47.860 align:middle line:90% I was like, OK, I'll take it. 00:27:47.860 --> 00:27:51.970 align:middle line:84% Really not knowing what to do with it. 00:27:51.970 --> 00:27:57.850 align:middle line:84% So it just sat in my studio for months, actually. 00:27:57.850 --> 00:28:03.280 align:middle line:84% But I had a chance to sit with it and think about it, 00:28:03.280 --> 00:28:05.840 align:middle line:84% think about what I wanted to do with it. 00:28:05.840 --> 00:28:09.430 align:middle line:84% And I started thinking about the history of this object, 00:28:09.430 --> 00:28:15.070 align:middle line:84% of the pew, and what it meant to people over the decades 00:28:15.070 --> 00:28:18.040 align:middle line:84% that it existed in this space of worship. 00:28:18.040 --> 00:28:21.010 align:middle line:84% And I started thinking about all the prayers and songs 00:28:21.010 --> 00:28:24.250 align:middle line:84% of worship and sermons and conversations 00:28:24.250 --> 00:28:28.240 align:middle line:84% that this pew had been a part of. 00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:31.290 align:middle line:90% 00:28:31.290 --> 00:28:35.460 align:middle line:84% So I wanted to have an element of sound, right. 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:37.500 align:middle line:90% And that became important to me. 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:40.270 align:middle line:90% 00:28:40.270 --> 00:28:44.350 align:middle line:84% And this was right after Donald Trump had been elected 00:28:44.350 --> 00:28:46.310 align:middle line:90% to be the next president. 00:28:46.310 --> 00:28:51.160 align:middle line:84% And there was a lot of frustration and confusion 00:28:51.160 --> 00:28:55.870 align:middle line:84% among my friends and my group of-- 00:28:55.870 --> 00:28:58.540 align:middle line:90% my tribe, if you will. 00:28:58.540 --> 00:29:01.540 align:middle line:84% And all the accumulation of all the prayers 00:29:01.540 --> 00:29:06.760 align:middle line:84% and all the frustration, state of our nation at the time, 00:29:06.760 --> 00:29:10.630 align:middle line:84% I felt like the element of sound had 00:29:10.630 --> 00:29:15.100 align:middle line:84% to be a universally familiar and powerful anthem 00:29:15.100 --> 00:29:17.260 align:middle line:90% that we could all relate to. 00:29:17.260 --> 00:29:20.140 align:middle line:84% So then the only choice for me was 00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:25.700 align:middle line:84% to pick this song, The Final Countdown by Europe, 00:29:25.700 --> 00:29:28.850 align:middle line:84% which is the 80s Swedish hair band. 00:29:28.850 --> 00:29:32.050 align:middle line:90% 00:29:32.050 --> 00:29:35.680 align:middle line:84% So this sculpture plays the main riff of that song. 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:37.558 align:middle line:90% So I'm going to play it. 00:29:37.558 --> 00:29:41.030 align:middle line:84% [MUSIC - EUROPE, "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN" INSTRUMENTAL] 00:29:41.030 --> 00:29:50.470 align:middle line:90% 00:29:50.470 --> 00:29:52.662 align:middle line:84% You got to use your imagination a little bit. 00:29:52.662 --> 00:29:56.106 align:middle line:84% [MUSIC - EUROPE, "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN" INSTRUMENTAL] 00:29:56.106 --> 00:30:12.490 align:middle line:90% 00:30:12.490 --> 00:30:16.340 align:middle line:84% So there are these wheels in the back that are turning, 00:30:16.340 --> 00:30:17.480 align:middle line:90% and it's motorized. 00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:23.647 align:middle line:84% And it interacts with thing that hits the key. 00:30:23.647 --> 00:30:27.000 align:middle line:84% [MUSIC - EUROPE, "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN" INSTRUMENTAL] 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:31.320 align:middle line:90% 00:30:31.320 --> 00:30:32.670 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:30:32.670 --> 00:30:38.160 align:middle line:84% So this is an untitled piece from 2019. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:41.730 align:middle line:84% It's a bunch of bottles, glass bottles. 00:30:41.730 --> 00:30:46.950 align:middle line:84% And I made this furniture thing for it to go on. 00:30:46.950 --> 00:30:49.470 align:middle line:90% 00:30:49.470 --> 00:30:52.650 align:middle line:90% It's 44 by 48 by 11 inches. 00:30:52.650 --> 00:30:55.260 align:middle line:90% It's set up Molotov cocktails. 00:30:55.260 --> 00:30:56.790 align:middle line:84% And it's also a musical instrument 00:30:56.790 --> 00:30:59.070 align:middle line:90% that you can actually play. 00:30:59.070 --> 00:31:02.070 align:middle line:84% So the bottles have contact mics attached to them, 00:31:02.070 --> 00:31:09.360 align:middle line:84% and you can plug it into an amp and actually play it. 00:31:09.360 --> 00:31:11.610 align:middle line:84% And I don't know if I've really figured out 00:31:11.610 --> 00:31:13.890 align:middle line:84% how to talk about this piece or even 00:31:13.890 --> 00:31:15.540 align:middle line:84% what it's supposed to be really about. 00:31:15.540 --> 00:31:19.950 align:middle line:84% I'm trying not to censor my ideas these days. 00:31:19.950 --> 00:31:25.320 align:middle line:84% So sometimes I make things that aren't fully thought through. 00:31:25.320 --> 00:31:28.830 align:middle line:84% I think I was thinking about how Molotov cocktails are 00:31:28.830 --> 00:31:32.130 align:middle line:84% these weapons, these incendiary weapons used by people who 00:31:32.130 --> 00:31:35.550 align:middle line:90% are opposing those with guns. 00:31:35.550 --> 00:31:39.850 align:middle line:84% And I think I'm oversimplifying it, 00:31:39.850 --> 00:31:45.030 align:middle line:84% but I was thinking about how beautiful 00:31:45.030 --> 00:31:47.280 align:middle line:84% that idea of fighting for your rights 00:31:47.280 --> 00:31:49.320 align:middle line:90% or fighting for your freedom is. 00:31:49.320 --> 00:31:54.140 align:middle line:90% 00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:57.710 align:middle line:84% This desire to fight for what you're yearning for. 00:31:57.710 --> 00:32:02.210 align:middle line:90% 00:32:02.210 --> 00:32:05.110 align:middle line:84% There's something pure and something beautiful about-- 00:32:05.110 --> 00:32:07.140 align:middle line:84% not about the device, not about the weapon, 00:32:07.140 --> 00:32:08.810 align:middle line:90% not about the violence. 00:32:08.810 --> 00:32:14.330 align:middle line:84% But this yearning for those things, 00:32:14.330 --> 00:32:17.868 align:middle line:84% for those desires for freedom, right. 00:32:17.868 --> 00:32:21.780 align:middle line:90% 00:32:21.780 --> 00:32:24.320 align:middle line:84% I think this is the last piece I'm going to share. 00:32:24.320 --> 00:32:28.280 align:middle line:84% It's called Bring On The Storm, also from 2019. 00:32:28.280 --> 00:32:29.150 align:middle line:90% Mixed media. 00:32:29.150 --> 00:32:34.100 align:middle line:84% 56 by 28 and 1/2 by 13 and 1/4 inches. 00:32:34.100 --> 00:32:40.370 align:middle line:84% So it's obviously referencing or appropriating Duchamp. 00:32:40.370 --> 00:32:43.310 align:middle line:84% This is a kinetic sculpture, where the wheel of the bicycle 00:32:43.310 --> 00:32:44.600 align:middle line:90% is also-- 00:32:44.600 --> 00:32:50.040 align:middle line:84% it turns and it's also this never-ending rainstick. 00:32:50.040 --> 00:32:53.263 align:middle line:84% So I'll show you a video in a second. 00:32:53.263 --> 00:32:54.680 align:middle line:84% So rainsticks are believed to have 00:32:54.680 --> 00:32:58.850 align:middle line:84% been invented by indigenous people of Chile and Argentina. 00:32:58.850 --> 00:33:04.310 align:middle line:84% And it was believed to bring about rainstorms. 00:33:04.310 --> 00:33:09.980 align:middle line:84% So it was a tool used to plead with the god of the universe 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:12.290 align:middle line:90% to bring on the rain. 00:33:12.290 --> 00:33:14.630 align:middle line:84% So this never-ending rainstick sculpture 00:33:14.630 --> 00:33:21.380 align:middle line:84% is a stand in for me to continuously pray. 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:24.230 align:middle line:84% So here's a video of it in action. 00:33:24.230 --> 00:33:25.760 align:middle line:84% I didn't have a good video of it. 00:33:25.760 --> 00:33:28.820 align:middle line:90% This is my old studio. 00:33:28.820 --> 00:33:37.280 align:middle line:84% The tire of the piece is made of hard plastic, plastic piping. 00:33:37.280 --> 00:33:45.510 align:middle line:84% And there are steel beads inside that continually move and make 00:33:45.510 --> 00:33:46.758 align:middle line:90% this rain sound. 00:33:46.758 --> 00:33:50.251 align:middle line:90% [RAIN SOUNDS] 00:33:50.251 --> 00:34:10.710 align:middle line:90% 00:34:10.710 --> 00:34:13.630 align:middle line:90% There's a motor. 00:34:13.630 --> 00:34:16.000 align:middle line:84% All right, I think that's all I got for you. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.050 align:middle line:84% And I think that's about half an hour. 00:34:20.050 --> 00:34:23.620 align:middle line:84% So I'm going to stop sharing, and I 00:34:23.620 --> 00:34:25.305 align:middle line:90% guess I'll take questions. 00:34:25.305 --> 00:34:26.770 align:middle line:90% Yeah, thank you so much, Macha. 00:34:26.770 --> 00:34:29.320 align:middle line:84% It's so cool to see your studio behind you 00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:32.139 align:middle line:84% and to see your work in galleries and museums 00:34:32.139 --> 00:34:35.270 align:middle line:90% and studio spaces as well. 00:34:35.270 --> 00:34:36.699 align:middle line:84% So I don't know if I'm going to be 00:34:36.699 --> 00:34:40.270 align:middle line:84% able to articulate this well, but I love 00:34:40.270 --> 00:34:42.070 align:middle line:90% the dichotomies in your work. 00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:45.663 align:middle line:84% Often there's this sense of humor that's really apparent. 00:34:45.663 --> 00:34:47.830 align:middle line:84% But then, of course, there's also this deeper level. 00:34:47.830 --> 00:34:50.590 align:middle line:84% You're looking at reoccurring themes 00:34:50.590 --> 00:34:52.480 align:middle line:90% that are really serious-- 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:58.120 align:middle line:84% vulnerability, death, fear, failure. 00:34:58.120 --> 00:35:01.390 align:middle line:90% Obviously spiritual concerns. 00:35:01.390 --> 00:35:04.360 align:middle line:84% Repeatedly we see the rainbow being 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:06.880 align:middle line:90% used in your color palette. 00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:10.820 align:middle line:84% And so I don't know if you can talk about that. 00:35:10.820 --> 00:35:12.510 align:middle line:90% But I just-- that dichotomy. 00:35:12.510 --> 00:35:15.670 align:middle line:90% 00:35:15.670 --> 00:35:18.250 align:middle line:84% I mean, I guess the way that I want 00:35:18.250 --> 00:35:22.150 align:middle line:84% my work to function in my own life 00:35:22.150 --> 00:35:25.760 align:middle line:84% is that it's an extension of my life. 00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:35.440 align:middle line:84% And so, as such, the themes that I feel in my work 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:39.530 align:middle line:84% are themes that I'm directly dealing in my own life. 00:35:39.530 --> 00:35:43.180 align:middle line:84% And humor and lightheartedness has always 00:35:43.180 --> 00:35:47.260 align:middle line:84% been this great entrance point for me 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:49.985 align:middle line:84% into difficult issues and themes. 00:35:49.985 --> 00:35:56.320 align:middle line:90% 00:35:56.320 --> 00:35:58.450 align:middle line:84% Let's say you're in a conversation that's 00:35:58.450 --> 00:35:59.530 align:middle line:90% really heavy. 00:35:59.530 --> 00:36:04.030 align:middle line:84% But if you can do it with lightness of heart, 00:36:04.030 --> 00:36:10.380 align:middle line:84% with some humor, I think it's always a better experience, 00:36:10.380 --> 00:36:10.880 align:middle line:90% I think. 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:14.500 align:middle line:84% And so, even when you're confronting 00:36:14.500 --> 00:36:19.750 align:middle line:84% something that's difficult, my approach often is-- 00:36:19.750 --> 00:36:26.470 align:middle line:84% the first step is to approach it from humor, lightheartedness. 00:36:26.470 --> 00:36:30.350 align:middle line:84% I think it's a really great entrance point. 00:36:30.350 --> 00:36:31.550 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:36:31.550 --> 00:36:34.890 align:middle line:84% Well it also makes the works of art accessible, 00:36:34.890 --> 00:36:38.480 align:middle line:84% I think, for folks who maybe it wouldn't be initially 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:41.840 align:middle line:84% otherwise, right, without that entry point, that humor. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:42.750 align:middle line:90% I hope so. 00:36:42.750 --> 00:36:43.370 align:middle line:90% I hope so. 00:36:43.370 --> 00:36:50.030 align:middle line:84% And I want there to be this kind of a hook, right. 00:36:50.030 --> 00:36:53.370 align:middle line:84% I mean, it's hard to talk about difficult issues. 00:36:53.370 --> 00:36:57.260 align:middle line:84% But if you can get the viewers to engage 00:36:57.260 --> 00:36:59.150 align:middle line:84% with it at a different level, then 00:36:59.150 --> 00:37:03.050 align:middle line:84% they might be more willing to engage 00:37:03.050 --> 00:37:06.830 align:middle line:84% in those difficult issues, I guess. 00:37:06.830 --> 00:37:10.160 align:middle line:84% But I think you also do that a great deal with your titles, 00:37:10.160 --> 00:37:13.220 align:middle line:90% with text in your work. 00:37:13.220 --> 00:37:15.810 align:middle line:84% There's the play on words, right. 00:37:15.810 --> 00:37:17.930 align:middle line:90% Is that a similar idea? 00:37:17.930 --> 00:37:18.620 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:37:18.620 --> 00:37:19.220 align:middle line:90% Absolutely. 00:37:19.220 --> 00:37:25.610 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I think, titles have always been difficult for me. 00:37:25.610 --> 00:37:28.430 align:middle line:84% Sometimes I don't title things, because I 00:37:28.430 --> 00:37:30.210 align:middle line:90% can't come up with a good one. 00:37:30.210 --> 00:37:34.130 align:middle line:90% And so the way I see titles is-- 00:37:34.130 --> 00:37:36.870 align:middle line:84% I mean, it ought to be informative, 00:37:36.870 --> 00:37:39.865 align:middle line:84% but I also see it as an extension of the work itself. 00:37:39.865 --> 00:37:42.380 align:middle line:90% 00:37:42.380 --> 00:37:44.420 align:middle line:84% Yeah, and same thing with the text, right. 00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:47.960 align:middle line:84% Text is tricky, because often it already 00:37:47.960 --> 00:37:50.690 align:middle line:90% has a meaning that's assigned. 00:37:50.690 --> 00:37:57.335 align:middle line:84% So I'm very aware of that and careful with the word choice. 00:37:57.335 --> 00:37:59.980 align:middle line:90% 00:37:59.980 --> 00:38:05.020 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I do use a lot of text, I guess. 00:38:05.020 --> 00:38:09.140 align:middle line:90% I see Nathan has his hand up. 00:38:09.140 --> 00:38:09.915 align:middle line:90% Hey, Macha. 00:38:09.915 --> 00:38:11.040 align:middle line:90% Thanks so much for sharing. 00:38:11.040 --> 00:38:12.020 align:middle line:90% Hi, Nathan. 00:38:12.020 --> 00:38:14.270 align:middle line:84% It's really fun to hear about your work 00:38:14.270 --> 00:38:15.720 align:middle line:90% and see it in this manner. 00:38:15.720 --> 00:38:16.510 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:38:16.510 --> 00:38:20.185 align:middle line:84% Follow-up question about the humor component. 00:38:20.185 --> 00:38:22.310 align:middle line:84% One of the things that I appreciate about your work 00:38:22.310 --> 00:38:24.800 align:middle line:84% so much in this talk and seeing it in person 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:27.050 align:middle line:84% is your use of materials and the way 00:38:27.050 --> 00:38:28.820 align:middle line:84% that sometimes your materials seem 00:38:28.820 --> 00:38:31.520 align:middle line:84% to bypass the ways that we usually think 00:38:31.520 --> 00:38:33.120 align:middle line:90% about art and access to that. 00:38:33.120 --> 00:38:33.620 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:38:33.620 --> 00:38:36.245 align:middle line:84% So I was wondering if you could make a comment or two about how 00:38:36.245 --> 00:38:38.720 align:middle line:84% you're drawn to materials and how you use them. 00:38:38.720 --> 00:38:39.540 align:middle line:90% Absolutely. 00:38:39.540 --> 00:38:46.010 align:middle line:84% Yeah, so similar to word use or humor, 00:38:46.010 --> 00:38:50.450 align:middle line:84% I think about accessibility for the viewers. 00:38:50.450 --> 00:38:56.390 align:middle line:84% Right, so when they see life-sized sheep made out 00:38:56.390 --> 00:39:01.370 align:middle line:84% of cheerleading pompoms, that's funny, I think. 00:39:01.370 --> 00:39:03.230 align:middle line:90% But it's also recognizable. 00:39:03.230 --> 00:39:11.180 align:middle line:84% When you walk up to the piece, you might feel the familiarity. 00:39:11.180 --> 00:39:15.230 align:middle line:90% Or seeing cardboard in the work. 00:39:15.230 --> 00:39:18.650 align:middle line:84% I think it's another way to connect 00:39:18.650 --> 00:39:25.796 align:middle line:84% with viewers that aren't necessarily artists, right. 00:39:25.796 --> 00:39:30.320 align:middle line:84% When I start using maybe epoxy clay, 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:31.760 align:middle line:90% people don't know what that is. 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:32.690 align:middle line:90% They have no idea. 00:39:32.690 --> 00:39:35.210 align:middle line:84% But when they see cardboard, they can point to it 00:39:35.210 --> 00:39:36.830 align:middle line:90% and go, oh, I know what that is. 00:39:36.830 --> 00:39:39.020 align:middle line:90% I know how that works. 00:39:39.020 --> 00:39:42.410 align:middle line:84% So again, I think it's an entrance point. 00:39:42.410 --> 00:39:50.930 align:middle line:84% And then I also think about just my own practicality, right. 00:39:50.930 --> 00:39:53.540 align:middle line:84% I can't always be spending a ton of money 00:39:53.540 --> 00:39:56.000 align:middle line:90% on expensive materials. 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:58.460 align:middle line:90% Cardboard is just around. 00:39:58.460 --> 00:40:03.530 align:middle line:84% Right, things that are available at hardware stores. 00:40:03.530 --> 00:40:07.250 align:middle line:84% They're around and they're not as expensive as fine art 00:40:07.250 --> 00:40:09.420 align:middle line:90% materials, oftentimes. 00:40:09.420 --> 00:40:17.060 align:middle line:84% And so it's like really anything goes in terms of materials. 00:40:17.060 --> 00:40:20.480 align:middle line:84% I think if I had just a ton of money, 00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:24.870 align:middle line:84% right, materials would change in a way. 00:40:24.870 --> 00:40:25.410 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:40:25.410 --> 00:40:25.993 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Macha. 00:40:25.993 --> 00:40:27.770 align:middle line:90% I appreciate that. 00:40:27.770 --> 00:40:30.150 align:middle line:84% We have some questions popping up in the chat. 00:40:30.150 --> 00:40:32.330 align:middle line:84% I want to try to maybe get to a couple of them-- 00:40:32.330 --> 00:40:34.964 align:middle line:90% in order, maybe. 00:40:34.964 --> 00:40:37.550 align:middle line:84% And I apologize if I'm saying your name wrong. 00:40:37.550 --> 00:40:40.690 align:middle line:84% Sari, I think, has a very practical question here. 00:40:40.690 --> 00:40:44.030 align:middle line:84% It says, "I wonder how or where do you start your artworks 00:40:44.030 --> 00:40:46.060 align:middle line:90% after the exhibition?" 00:40:46.060 --> 00:40:46.825 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:40:46.825 --> 00:40:49.430 align:middle line:90% A really great question, Sari. 00:40:49.430 --> 00:40:53.260 align:middle line:84% So I usually try to keep them for a while. 00:40:53.260 --> 00:40:58.000 align:middle line:84% If it's a show at a museum or art center where 00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:00.970 align:middle line:84% the purpose isn't to sell the work, 00:41:00.970 --> 00:41:05.020 align:middle line:84% they come back to my studio and they sit here for a while, 00:41:05.020 --> 00:41:06.490 align:middle line:90% right. 00:41:06.490 --> 00:41:10.150 align:middle line:84% This summer, I built a storage shed next to my garage. 00:41:10.150 --> 00:41:13.450 align:middle line:90% So I have some works in there. 00:41:13.450 --> 00:41:16.030 align:middle line:84% But I also recently moved my studio, 00:41:16.030 --> 00:41:19.110 align:middle line:84% so I had a much larger space that I was working out 00:41:19.110 --> 00:41:20.980 align:middle line:90% of with a lot of storage space. 00:41:20.980 --> 00:41:25.390 align:middle line:84% But eventually I have to just get rid of them. 00:41:25.390 --> 00:41:27.460 align:middle line:90% Take a hammer to them. 00:41:27.460 --> 00:41:32.230 align:middle line:84% Because to me, once I make the work 00:41:32.230 --> 00:41:39.670 align:middle line:84% and show it a couple few times and I've photographed it, 00:41:39.670 --> 00:41:41.120 align:middle line:90% the piece is done. 00:41:41.120 --> 00:41:44.170 align:middle line:90% I don't have to hold on to it. 00:41:44.170 --> 00:41:50.350 align:middle line:84% That's just a reality that I encountered as I just started 00:41:50.350 --> 00:41:52.420 align:middle line:90% making more and more works. 00:41:52.420 --> 00:41:54.580 align:middle line:84% I just literally ran out of space, 00:41:54.580 --> 00:42:01.120 align:middle line:84% so I had to start, yeah, just getting rid of old works 00:42:01.120 --> 00:42:05.590 align:middle line:84% and recycle parts and take things apart. 00:42:05.590 --> 00:42:09.010 align:middle line:84% But if I'm lucky enough, I can sell them or even 00:42:09.010 --> 00:42:11.290 align:middle line:90% give them away. 00:42:11.290 --> 00:42:11.970 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:42:11.970 --> 00:42:16.270 align:middle line:84% But very few people have room in their home 00:42:16.270 --> 00:42:19.250 align:middle line:84% to house larger objects like this. 00:42:19.250 --> 00:42:23.610 align:middle line:84% Well, especially when you work life-size, right, often. 00:42:23.610 --> 00:42:25.010 align:middle line:90% So, Cameron, I saw your hand. 00:42:25.010 --> 00:42:27.470 align:middle line:90% Do you have a question? 00:42:27.470 --> 00:42:30.080 align:middle line:90% Yes, I do. 00:42:30.080 --> 00:42:32.695 align:middle line:84% Thanks for the good talk and the good work. 00:42:32.695 --> 00:42:33.260 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Cam. 00:42:33.260 --> 00:42:34.080 align:middle line:90% Good to see you. 00:42:34.080 --> 00:42:34.808 align:middle line:90% Nice to see you. 00:42:34.808 --> 00:42:36.350 align:middle line:84% One of the things I'm wondering about 00:42:36.350 --> 00:42:42.280 align:middle line:84% is as we looked at your work you went through image by image, 00:42:42.280 --> 00:42:45.940 align:middle line:84% it's clear that you spend a lot of attention 00:42:45.940 --> 00:42:47.560 align:middle line:90% on crafting these pieces. 00:42:47.560 --> 00:42:51.790 align:middle line:84% So it might be common materials, but just 00:42:51.790 --> 00:42:53.260 align:middle line:90% real attention to detail. 00:42:53.260 --> 00:42:55.990 align:middle line:84% And I wonder if you might just comment 00:42:55.990 --> 00:42:58.870 align:middle line:84% on how you think that the work of craft 00:42:58.870 --> 00:43:01.120 align:middle line:84% relates to the work of artmaking. 00:43:01.120 --> 00:43:02.910 align:middle line:90% Thanks. 00:43:02.910 --> 00:43:04.270 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Cam. 00:43:04.270 --> 00:43:07.150 align:middle line:90% Yeah, I think about that a lot. 00:43:07.150 --> 00:43:11.530 align:middle line:84% Especially when I'm working with materials 00:43:11.530 --> 00:43:13.600 align:middle line:90% that are recognizable. 00:43:13.600 --> 00:43:17.380 align:middle line:84% I mean, I'll go back to cardboard again. 00:43:17.380 --> 00:43:23.080 align:middle line:84% If I can heighten the quality, then 00:43:23.080 --> 00:43:28.890 align:middle line:84% it creates this wow factor, I think. 00:43:28.890 --> 00:43:31.000 align:middle line:84% Especially with materials like cardboard, 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:35.110 align:middle line:84% which is associated with storage or just shipping. 00:43:35.110 --> 00:43:37.980 align:middle line:84% I mean, the cardboard is usually or almost never 00:43:37.980 --> 00:43:40.390 align:middle line:84% the thing that you're taking care of, right. 00:43:40.390 --> 00:43:42.340 align:middle line:84% It's the thing that goes on the inside. 00:43:42.340 --> 00:43:49.410 align:middle line:84% So if I'm treating cardboard as this valuable material 00:43:49.410 --> 00:43:55.110 align:middle line:84% and spending a lot of time in the craft process, 00:43:55.110 --> 00:44:01.940 align:middle line:84% I think it really changes the, I don't know, the-- 00:44:01.940 --> 00:44:04.500 align:middle line:84% what people think about cardboard. 00:44:04.500 --> 00:44:06.960 align:middle line:84% And that's really what I'm after. 00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:15.390 align:middle line:84% I've always strived to make the best quality of anything 00:44:15.390 --> 00:44:17.760 align:middle line:90% that I can make. 00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:19.380 align:middle line:90% At least on the surface, right. 00:44:19.380 --> 00:44:24.300 align:middle line:84% If you look on the back, you'll see all the imperfections. 00:44:24.300 --> 00:44:30.240 align:middle line:90% And to me, it's a really-- 00:44:30.240 --> 00:44:31.110 align:middle line:90% I don't know. 00:44:31.110 --> 00:44:33.900 align:middle line:84% I don't know if I can articulate it. 00:44:33.900 --> 00:44:37.980 align:middle line:84% When a viewer who doesn't know art that well, 00:44:37.980 --> 00:44:40.410 align:middle line:84% right, sees work that's made out of something 00:44:40.410 --> 00:44:46.080 align:middle line:84% that's very familiar to them but used in a very different way-- 00:44:46.080 --> 00:44:49.740 align:middle line:84% a lot of care, a lot of attention to detail-- 00:44:49.740 --> 00:44:51.900 align:middle line:90% it does something in their head. 00:44:51.900 --> 00:44:55.860 align:middle line:84% And it heightens their experience, I think. 00:44:55.860 --> 00:44:58.660 align:middle line:90% So that's what I'm after. 00:44:58.660 --> 00:45:01.480 align:middle line:84% Can you talk more about what you said about trying 00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:03.700 align:middle line:90% not to censor yourself? 00:45:03.700 --> 00:45:04.600 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:45:04.600 --> 00:45:06.670 align:middle line:90% Yeah, so what I mean by that-- 00:45:06.670 --> 00:45:11.390 align:middle line:84% earlier on in my journey as an artist, 00:45:11.390 --> 00:45:15.040 align:middle line:84% I always felt like I needed to have a really good idea 00:45:15.040 --> 00:45:19.330 align:middle line:84% before I started working, started making a piece that was 00:45:19.330 --> 00:45:22.520 align:middle line:90% going to be a finished piece. 00:45:22.520 --> 00:45:25.870 align:middle line:84% So I would spend a lot of time just thinking about it, 00:45:25.870 --> 00:45:27.610 align:middle line:90% tweaking things about it. 00:45:27.610 --> 00:45:29.590 align:middle line:84% And sometimes I would get to a point 00:45:29.590 --> 00:45:32.350 align:middle line:90% where I just didn't make it. 00:45:32.350 --> 00:45:33.970 align:middle line:84% Because it just never got to that 00:45:33.970 --> 00:45:36.970 align:middle line:90% point where it was good enough. 00:45:36.970 --> 00:45:41.830 align:middle line:90% Nowadays, I have weird ideas. 00:45:41.830 --> 00:45:45.460 align:middle line:84% I have an image in my head maybe-- 00:45:45.460 --> 00:45:47.560 align:middle line:84% I'll just start exploring it, not 00:45:47.560 --> 00:45:54.400 align:middle line:84% really knowing what it's really about or where it comes from. 00:45:54.400 --> 00:45:55.680 align:middle line:90% That's what I mean. 00:45:55.680 --> 00:45:59.080 align:middle line:84% So I'm trying not to censor my own ideas. 00:45:59.080 --> 00:46:01.870 align:middle line:84% Right, I'm trying to like get it out and just see 00:46:01.870 --> 00:46:03.520 align:middle line:90% if it even works. 00:46:03.520 --> 00:46:05.800 align:middle line:84% And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. 00:46:05.800 --> 00:46:10.870 align:middle line:84% But I think for me, the exploration of bad ideas 00:46:10.870 --> 00:46:15.590 align:middle line:84% perhaps has been a positive thing. 00:46:15.590 --> 00:46:20.910 align:middle line:84% It always leads to something-- something good, something new. 00:46:20.910 --> 00:46:25.200 align:middle line:84% Well, it also connects to your interest in exploring failure. 00:46:25.200 --> 00:46:28.470 align:middle line:90% Yeah, I think so. 00:46:28.470 --> 00:46:31.080 align:middle line:84% So it looks like Kai and Robert-- 00:46:31.080 --> 00:46:33.690 align:middle line:90% their questions intersect a bit. 00:46:33.690 --> 00:46:36.570 align:middle line:84% Asking about who your main audience is. 00:46:36.570 --> 00:46:41.400 align:middle line:84% And also Robert says, "As a man a creator fully immersed 00:46:41.400 --> 00:46:44.490 align:middle line:84% in two cultures, one, how does this duality reflect 00:46:44.490 --> 00:46:47.100 align:middle line:84% in your artwork, and two, does your artwork resonate 00:46:47.100 --> 00:46:51.390 align:middle line:84% more closely with viewers from America or Japan-- 00:46:51.390 --> 00:46:53.370 align:middle line:90% if a difference exists at all?" 00:46:53.370 --> 00:46:54.340 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:46:54.340 --> 00:46:54.840 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:46:54.840 --> 00:46:57.980 align:middle line:90% 00:46:57.980 --> 00:47:02.090 align:middle line:84% So let me answer that one first, because I just 00:47:02.090 --> 00:47:04.490 align:middle line:90% forgot the first question. 00:47:04.490 --> 00:47:05.420 align:middle line:90% Oh, audience. 00:47:05.420 --> 00:47:06.730 align:middle line:90% Right, audience, OK. 00:47:06.730 --> 00:47:10.010 align:middle line:90% 00:47:10.010 --> 00:47:12.845 align:middle line:84% I've always wanted to have a broad audience. 00:47:12.845 --> 00:47:15.710 align:middle line:90% 00:47:15.710 --> 00:47:18.980 align:middle line:84% Anybody that appreciates anything 00:47:18.980 --> 00:47:21.083 align:middle line:90% that's visually interesting. 00:47:21.083 --> 00:47:24.000 align:middle line:90% 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:26.270 align:middle line:90% It sounds greedy, maybe. 00:47:26.270 --> 00:47:32.250 align:middle line:84% But my materials, my processes are designed in that way. 00:47:32.250 --> 00:47:34.490 align:middle line:84% I've always wanted to connect with people 00:47:34.490 --> 00:47:37.490 align:middle line:84% not just who are well versed in art, 00:47:37.490 --> 00:47:39.290 align:middle line:84% but also people who aren't, right. 00:47:39.290 --> 00:47:46.940 align:middle line:84% Like parents of artists maybe, or friends who don't really 00:47:46.940 --> 00:47:50.810 align:middle line:90% know me as an artist, right 00:47:50.810 --> 00:47:54.140 align:middle line:84% So I think I want my materials to reflect that. 00:47:54.140 --> 00:47:57.260 align:middle line:84% I want my processes to reflect that. 00:47:57.260 --> 00:48:02.180 align:middle line:84% In terms of my own culture, I think 00:48:02.180 --> 00:48:11.720 align:middle line:84% that I'm very aware of how I'm influenced 00:48:11.720 --> 00:48:15.510 align:middle line:84% by the American culture and the Japanese culture. 00:48:15.510 --> 00:48:22.850 align:middle line:84% But I also think of it like a hybridized subculture 00:48:22.850 --> 00:48:30.160 align:middle line:84% that takes in these different cultures, I guess. 00:48:30.160 --> 00:48:35.030 align:middle line:84% So growing up, I lived in Japan for the first nine 00:48:35.030 --> 00:48:36.230 align:middle line:90% years of my life. 00:48:36.230 --> 00:48:39.470 align:middle line:84% I grew up watching anime, reading manga. 00:48:39.470 --> 00:48:41.300 align:middle line:90% And I still do that. 00:48:41.300 --> 00:48:45.960 align:middle line:84% I don't watch anime as much but, I still read manga. 00:48:45.960 --> 00:48:49.790 align:middle line:84% And so visual culture at a young age all came from Japan. 00:48:49.790 --> 00:48:59.990 align:middle line:84% And at that time, I felt like Japan, at least where I lived, 00:48:59.990 --> 00:49:07.700 align:middle line:84% it was more just generally more committed to visual aesthetics, 00:49:07.700 --> 00:49:11.720 align:middle line:90% I guess, than it was here. 00:49:11.720 --> 00:49:14.255 align:middle line:84% And I felt that when I moved here in '88. 00:49:14.255 --> 00:49:16.910 align:middle line:90% 00:49:16.910 --> 00:49:18.350 align:middle line:90% So that's my background. 00:49:18.350 --> 00:49:23.060 align:middle line:84% But since then, I think most of my influences, 00:49:23.060 --> 00:49:27.250 align:middle line:84% at least in terms of living life, has come from here. 00:49:27.250 --> 00:49:30.920 align:middle line:90% 00:49:30.920 --> 00:49:35.720 align:middle line:84% Yeah, and I don't I don't think about Japanese audience 00:49:35.720 --> 00:49:39.650 align:middle line:90% versus American audience. 00:49:39.650 --> 00:49:44.120 align:middle line:84% Robert, that's a good question, but I don't have the answer. 00:49:44.120 --> 00:49:46.560 align:middle line:84% I only see things the way I see things, 00:49:46.560 --> 00:49:54.050 align:middle line:84% so it might be a better question for Japanese viewers. 00:49:54.050 --> 00:49:55.230 align:middle line:90% Yeah, I don't know. 00:49:55.230 --> 00:49:55.970 align:middle line:90% I don't know. 00:49:55.970 --> 00:49:59.300 align:middle line:84% I don't know how they're received. 00:49:59.300 --> 00:50:02.720 align:middle line:84% We have a question from Nina here in the chat. 00:50:02.720 --> 00:50:05.120 align:middle line:84% "Do your personal projects ever inform 00:50:05.120 --> 00:50:07.460 align:middle line:84% the ones you assign in the classroom, 00:50:07.460 --> 00:50:09.890 align:middle line:84% or do you try to keep your academic life 00:50:09.890 --> 00:50:12.920 align:middle line:84% separate from your professional artworks?" 00:50:12.920 --> 00:50:14.070 align:middle line:90% Yeah, good question. 00:50:14.070 --> 00:50:17.320 align:middle line:90% So, yes, it does, Nina. 00:50:17.320 --> 00:50:22.020 align:middle line:84% I think I've become an expert at my own work, right. 00:50:22.020 --> 00:50:25.100 align:middle line:84% So as such, my processes, my materials 00:50:25.100 --> 00:50:28.970 align:middle line:90% are very familiar to me. 00:50:28.970 --> 00:50:32.690 align:middle line:84% This thing, right, this thing we're doing in class right now, 00:50:32.690 --> 00:50:36.530 align:middle line:84% this is the process that I use for many 00:50:36.530 --> 00:50:42.650 align:middle line:90% of my more slick sculptures. 00:50:42.650 --> 00:50:48.680 align:middle line:90% So I think of it this way. 00:50:48.680 --> 00:50:52.400 align:middle line:84% The better artist I become, right, the more 00:50:52.400 --> 00:50:55.050 align:middle line:90% I have to teach my students. 00:50:55.050 --> 00:50:57.740 align:middle line:84% And so I think my studio practice 00:50:57.740 --> 00:51:02.150 align:middle line:84% is really important to the things 00:51:02.150 --> 00:51:04.850 align:middle line:90% that I do in the classroom. 00:51:04.850 --> 00:51:09.950 align:middle line:84% It informs a lot of what I do in class. 00:51:09.950 --> 00:51:12.740 align:middle line:90% 00:51:12.740 --> 00:51:15.560 align:middle line:84% So if I stop learning myself, I think 00:51:15.560 --> 00:51:18.230 align:middle line:84% it's a disservice to my students. 00:51:18.230 --> 00:51:27.350 align:middle line:84% So I often give my students little tips that 00:51:27.350 --> 00:51:30.750 align:middle line:90% aren't in how-to guide books. 00:51:30.750 --> 00:51:33.770 align:middle line:84% Or it's from my own experience, right. 00:51:33.770 --> 00:51:39.140 align:middle line:84% So what I'm learning in my process, 00:51:39.140 --> 00:51:41.840 align:middle line:84% yeah, directly informs how I teach. 00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:44.540 align:middle line:90% 00:51:44.540 --> 00:51:45.140 align:middle line:90% Thanks much. 00:51:45.140 --> 00:51:46.730 align:middle line:90% I see Stephanie has her hand up. 00:51:46.730 --> 00:51:50.220 align:middle line:84% Stephanie, do you want to ask the final question? 00:51:50.220 --> 00:51:51.030 align:middle line:90% Hi, Stephanie. 00:51:51.030 --> 00:51:51.780 align:middle line:90% Hi. 00:51:51.780 --> 00:51:52.950 align:middle line:90% How's it going? 00:51:52.950 --> 00:51:54.570 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:51:54.570 --> 00:52:00.360 align:middle line:84% So I had a question related to some of the symbols 00:52:00.360 --> 00:52:02.580 align:middle line:90% and themes I see in your work. 00:52:02.580 --> 00:52:06.280 align:middle line:84% And you've been making work for a long time, 00:52:06.280 --> 00:52:09.270 align:middle line:84% so you have evolved a lot of these themes 00:52:09.270 --> 00:52:17.190 align:middle line:84% over previous periods that our country has been going through. 00:52:17.190 --> 00:52:22.380 align:middle line:84% And I see interesting symbols and themes 00:52:22.380 --> 00:52:28.650 align:middle line:84% related to a transformation of toxic masculine aggression, 00:52:28.650 --> 00:52:33.000 align:middle line:84% where the arrows and the weaponry 00:52:33.000 --> 00:52:37.200 align:middle line:84% and the idea of winners and losers and things like this 00:52:37.200 --> 00:52:46.950 align:middle line:84% get transformed into a more holistic and an almost 00:52:46.950 --> 00:52:51.960 align:middle line:90% medicinal, soulful experience. 00:52:51.960 --> 00:52:54.990 align:middle line:84% And then I noticed that you were talking 00:52:54.990 --> 00:52:59.880 align:middle line:84% about in the last piece, this Molotov cocktail style piece, 00:52:59.880 --> 00:53:03.360 align:middle line:84% and having some kind of thoughts about it. 00:53:03.360 --> 00:53:07.890 align:middle line:84% And I'm just wondering if maybe over the last four years, 00:53:07.890 --> 00:53:11.310 align:middle line:84% as toxic masculine aggression has 00:53:11.310 --> 00:53:15.210 align:middle line:84% taken on a different tenor in our country 00:53:15.210 --> 00:53:19.440 align:middle line:84% and the feeling of violence that maybe we 00:53:19.440 --> 00:53:21.930 align:middle line:84% used to have as being really far away, 00:53:21.930 --> 00:53:25.590 align:middle line:84% and now we have these insurrections happening 00:53:25.590 --> 00:53:26.550 align:middle line:90% in the US Capitol-- 00:53:26.550 --> 00:53:33.570 align:middle line:84% if those themes are taking on a different weight 00:53:33.570 --> 00:53:35.310 align:middle line:90% or a different-- 00:53:35.310 --> 00:53:39.240 align:middle line:84% or if you're experiencing some of these symbols and themes 00:53:39.240 --> 00:53:41.988 align:middle line:84% that you've worked with before, if you're experiencing them 00:53:41.988 --> 00:53:42.780 align:middle line:90% in a different way. 00:53:42.780 --> 00:53:46.910 align:middle line:90% 00:53:46.910 --> 00:53:49.040 align:middle line:84% Sorry, that was a very loose question. 00:53:49.040 --> 00:53:50.990 align:middle line:90% Yeah, no. 00:53:50.990 --> 00:53:55.010 align:middle line:90% Great discussion topic, I think. 00:53:55.010 --> 00:53:55.760 align:middle line:90% I think so. 00:53:55.760 --> 00:54:00.470 align:middle line:84% I mean, I think obviously the last four years 00:54:00.470 --> 00:54:04.890 align:middle line:84% have has felt really different, right. 00:54:04.890 --> 00:54:11.040 align:middle line:84% So the things that I'm thinking about, the way that I'm living 00:54:11.040 --> 00:54:14.100 align:middle line:90% my life has changed, right. 00:54:14.100 --> 00:54:17.760 align:middle line:84% So I don't know if I've specifically 00:54:17.760 --> 00:54:26.800 align:middle line:84% thought about those ideas that you just mentioned. 00:54:26.800 --> 00:54:28.500 align:middle line:84% I haven't really put a lot of thought 00:54:28.500 --> 00:54:31.050 align:middle line:84% into how those things have changed. 00:54:31.050 --> 00:54:32.730 align:middle line:90% But definitely, right. 00:54:32.730 --> 00:54:37.430 align:middle line:90% 00:54:37.430 --> 00:54:41.485 align:middle line:84% Yeah, and I never really equated those-- 00:54:41.485 --> 00:54:43.130 align:middle line:84% like the arrows that you mentioned, 00:54:43.130 --> 00:54:49.300 align:middle line:84% I never equated those to violence per se, right. 00:54:49.300 --> 00:54:52.240 align:middle line:84% And I use them more loosely as things 00:54:52.240 --> 00:54:53.710 align:middle line:90% that come your way, right. 00:54:53.710 --> 00:54:55.540 align:middle line:90% Hardships, maybe. 00:54:55.540 --> 00:54:59.950 align:middle line:84% But I do think they take on a different meaning nowadays. 00:54:59.950 --> 00:55:06.290 align:middle line:84% And again, it's like this is all an extension of what I'm living 00:55:06.290 --> 00:55:07.820 align:middle line:90% and what I'm experiencing. 00:55:07.820 --> 00:55:12.660 align:middle line:90% And so, yeah, I think so. 00:55:12.660 --> 00:55:16.100 align:middle line:90% I mean, I-- and if it's not-- 00:55:16.100 --> 00:55:21.800 align:middle line:90% 00:55:21.800 --> 00:55:23.910 align:middle line:84% I think it'll continue to change. 00:55:23.910 --> 00:55:26.570 align:middle line:90% It will continue to evolve. 00:55:26.570 --> 00:55:31.100 align:middle line:84% Yeah, and something that meant one thing years ago 00:55:31.100 --> 00:55:34.430 align:middle line:90% may not mean that anymore. 00:55:34.430 --> 00:55:37.020 align:middle line:84% And it may not mean what it means now in a few years, 00:55:37.020 --> 00:55:37.520 align:middle line:90% right. 00:55:37.520 --> 00:55:43.272 align:middle line:90% So, yeah, I don't know. 00:55:43.272 --> 00:55:44.980 align:middle line:84% That doesn't really answer your question, 00:55:44.980 --> 00:55:48.500 align:middle line:84% but something to think about, I think. 00:55:48.500 --> 00:55:52.430 align:middle line:84% Well, I see you using the symbols. 00:55:52.430 --> 00:55:53.840 align:middle line:90% They're very symbolic, right. 00:55:53.840 --> 00:55:57.480 align:middle line:84% They're things that are far away from our direct experience, 00:55:57.480 --> 00:55:57.980 align:middle line:90% like-- 00:55:57.980 --> 00:55:58.480 align:middle line:90% Sure. 00:55:58.480 --> 00:56:02.840 align:middle line:84% -- arrows and Molotov cocktails, which we haven't experienced 00:56:02.840 --> 00:56:04.955 align:middle line:90% a lot in our lifetime. 00:56:04.955 --> 00:56:05.733 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:56:05.733 --> 00:56:10.970 align:middle line:84% Yeah, and that is actually a direct-- 00:56:10.970 --> 00:56:14.570 align:middle line:84% I mean, it's information that I'm getting from-- 00:56:14.570 --> 00:56:17.800 align:middle line:84% whether it's internet media, or whatever it may be. 00:56:17.800 --> 00:56:19.610 align:middle line:84% Right, it's not my own experience, 00:56:19.610 --> 00:56:26.190 align:middle line:84% but experience as somebody who's consuming these informations. 00:56:26.190 --> 00:56:30.210 align:middle line:84% Yeah, so, yeah, I mean, I think as the world changes, 00:56:30.210 --> 00:56:36.840 align:middle line:84% as our country changes, I think it will inform my work. 00:56:36.840 --> 00:56:41.780 align:middle line:84% And I think it will continue to change my work. 00:56:41.780 --> 00:56:42.280 align:middle line:90% Cool. 00:56:42.280 --> 00:56:44.650 align:middle line:90% Thank you for sharing. 00:56:44.650 --> 00:56:45.810 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Stephanie. 00:56:45.810 --> 00:56:47.070 align:middle line:90% Great question, Stephanie. 00:56:47.070 --> 00:56:50.790 align:middle line:84% So that sounds like that one's to be continued, for sure. 00:56:50.790 --> 00:56:55.170 align:middle line:84% Huge thanks to Macha for your generosity today. 00:56:55.170 --> 00:56:57.810 align:middle line:84% We're super lucky to spend a little bit of our afternoon 00:56:57.810 --> 00:57:00.120 align:middle line:84% with you and learn more about your practice. 00:57:00.120 --> 00:57:03.490 align:middle line:84% And thanks to all of you who carved out some time as well. 00:57:03.490 --> 00:57:05.980 align:middle line:84% Take care, and see you next time. 00:57:05.980 --> 00:57:07.060 align:middle line:90% Thank you all. 00:57:07.060 --> 00:57:07.560 align:middle line:90% It was fun. 00:57:07.560 --> 00:57:22.860 align:middle line:90% 00:57:22.860 --> 00:57:26.210 align:middle line:90% [CLOSING NOTES] 00:57:26.210 --> 00:57:34.000 align:middle line:90%