This simple and concise statement best expresses my objectives on what it means to be an artist. I believe that art should be more than a “pretty picture.” It should both touch and engage the viewer. For me, art is the balance of the heart and the mind, of feeling and thinking. Art produced today is sometimes too esoteric in it’s objectives, it works against the viewer instead of informing them. On the other hand, it is the artist’s responsibility not to spoon-feed the viewer but to give them just enough information to make a connection with the work. This fine balance determines if the work is successful or not.

Installation and video has enabled me to create more personal and emotional work. I can take very intimate memories, feelings, and ideas and express them in a profound manner. Where a sculpture allows the viewer to move around it, installation surrounds the viewer making them part of the work. Where a photograph captures only a second of a moment, video can record the whole event. It is much more powerful to see the situation from beginning to end. I believe that installation and video allows me to express my ideas on loss, interpersonal relationships, longing, and ritual more vividly than with any other medium. The challenge for me as an artist is to interpret these ideas in a way that both touch and engage the viewer.