Mar 11 2007
Simon Grigsby
vice-president
a statement of purpose, visually speaking…
Each day is a collection of experiences. A scrapbook of sound-bytes and scenarios, from the mundane to the profound and all points in between. A walk to the corner store can produce nothing more exciting than a pack of smokes, a carton of milk, that afternoon snack; or it can introduce you to an event you may never forget. A car crash. Mothers buried beneath the weight of groceries, whilst trying to remain attached to tired, distracted children. The clicking of balls on a pool table and the smell of stale beer as you pass your local pub. A newspaper headline atop a stack of identical headlines, paper wrinkled with the anticipation of rain. Snatches of conversation. All this and more within a brief period of minutes. And there’s a lot of minutes crammed into twenty-four hours.
We absorb this information on a variety of levels; some of it is buried deep within the subconscious, barely
accessible. Some of it remains jarringly lucid, strapped to
the forefront of our thoughts, harder to shake than flu in
December. Surely these persistent and tenacious perceptions
are worthy of some form of commentary. All we need to do is
pick our weapons. I choose language. I choose paint.
Newton claimed that “for every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction”. Trust a scientist to describe the
creative process for me. Just another of life’s smokin’
fast-balls. However, for me, he happens to be right. Art is
all about reaction, subjective and objective, and whilst my
work is certainly subjective, I strive to maintain a visual
aesthetic that focuses on universal, everyday imagery; the human form, words, phrases, simple geometric arrangements, horizontals and especially, verticals. Whatever my personal agenda may be, I want my work to be as accessible as possible. Way too much artwork becomes overly self-absorbed, cryptic and alienating to all but a select few. As my work and I matures, I find myself becoming increasingly concerned about falling into this trap. Art, and the whole concept of self- expression belongs to us all, regardless of background or how we pass our days. We all experience, we all express. Art is just an individualized extension of this, and I revel in the power of the individual, the ability of the individual to remain just that , whilst acting as part of the greater whole. It’s what makes cities breathe, the globe keep turning and life exciting.
To try to change minds via a strident agenda is not my objective. I would prefer people draw their own conclusions, make their own assumptions. All I ask, if possible, is a reaction, positive or negative, to whatever imagery I put forth; for me, response is a sure sign of success.