Artist Statement

Discovering oneself is a journey. An awareness of self is something freeing, terrifying and beautiful. My investigation of space, navigation, and the process by which the work is made bring geographical space and it’s three facets, social, mental, and physical space, together. My current work strives to understand the variations of the self in relation to geographical space through both the outcome of
the work and the process behind each piece. I want to discover the meaning of identity and how it is developed through architecture, the economy, navigation, and social relationships; bringing them together to reveal that identity is a monument to human nature. There are various ways in which I illustrate mental space, social space, and physical space in order for the viewer to recognize part of their identity,
inadvertently discovering a part of oneself.

Full Text, Research and Sources

My exploration for the Fall 2009 semester began with my fascination in cairns. I am interested in how humans navigate and fill spaces in relation to different types of environment, personal experiences humans have with these environments, and the monumental nature and social function of cairns as a metaphor for human experience. I began to investigate different spatial relationships in nature, materials, and the human mind in order to understand the contemporary cairns of our current society. Through this research I have defined the contemporary cairn as personal identity. My current work strives to understand the variations of the self in relation to geographical space through both the outcome of the work and the process behind each piece.

The work began as three separate projects. The first study of ideas began with interiors of architectural spaces in relation to mental interiors, correlating relationships between the effects of architecture and space on brain function. In conjunction with this research I began to focus on cairns and geographical mapping. I wanted to build my own contemporary cairn in order to discover societies relationship to monuments discovered and developed through navigation, death, and cycles. A third project is a series of photographs of Highway 64 during reconstruction in the city of St. Louis. My interest was perked by the negative space that the construction had created, and capturing the human machines and expansiveness of the empty weaving concrete slab, trying to discover how it effects the people of the city.

The process of discovery in my work is extremely important. I work in a scientific manner while simultaneously creating through a stream of consciousness where I act as a visual sponge, soaking up images, ideas, and political stimuli, and releasing them into work. In all genres of working, whether it be painting, sculpture, photography, or otherwise, I am always layering and building, breaking down and trying to find balance both formally and analytically. Through this fluid process I began to realize that the separate research on cairns, psychology, and space were trying to uncover different human responses to stimuli in relation to personal identity. I declared the contemporary cairn as identity, and began to question how the representation of a cairn translates to personal identity and how human navigational routines function. What type of mark is left on the world through the process of routine, and how does routine effect identity? I began looking at the shapes and colors of nature vs. the shapes and colors of human construction, and their interaction in order to try and understand urban space in relation to identity.

I want to discover the meaning of identity and how it is developed through architecture, the economy, navigation, and social relationships; bringing them together to reveal that identity is a monument to human nature like the cairn a monument to the natural world. In The Production of Space, philosopher Henri Lefebvre posits that geographic space is constituted by mental space, social space, and physical space. I want my audience to become self-aware of their routines, identity, and the interconnectedness of human patterning through visualization of Lefebvre’s spatial mapping system.

Constructing identity is like building a cairn, over time members of society and forces of nature form, destroy, and renovate identities. Identity is something that is built from experiences, societal construction, and education systems, all existing and functioning as geographical space. Discovering oneself is a journey. An awareness of self is something freeing, terrifying and beautiful. My investigation of space, navigation, and the process by which the work is made brings geographical space and it’s three facets together. There are various ways in which I illustrate mental space, social space, and physical space in order for the viewer to recognize a part of their identity. I want my audience to visually respond to the work in a way that makes them ask questions about the materials and their arrangement in relationship to their personal identity, inadvertently allowing them to discover a part of themselves.

MENTAL SPACE

The works reference psychological functions of space. The images and objects open mental places to explore. I am interested in how mental spaces become relative at the moment in which the viewer encounters the work. I see the work as an opportunity to assert or experience one’s identity freely in a private time of contemplation of the self.

A large influence this semester was Dr. Mark Rollins, head of Washington University’s Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy (PNP) department. We discussed the visual system of the human brain, and the human motor control system and it’s interaction with the visual control system. All humans have psychological associations with objects, shapes, and colors based on their upbringing and history with these items, which can be placed in s social context. I was fascinated by our discussion on mirror neurons. There is a theory that exists which concludes that mirror neurons categorize objects and images as targets of action. Essentially, if one were to see a painting of a person dancing, the mirror neurons would activate the part of the brain as if the viewer were dancing, even though they are standing still.
I translated Dr. Rollins scientific theory through my painting and construction process. I am building an imaginary mental space where the viewer is caught between experienced space and the impenetrable surface of the picture plane. I hope to reveal the complicity between the image and the viewer that a system of representation such as atmospheric perspective, and the viewer’s personal history with objects, textures, and colors demand. In the paintings, the viewer is cerebrally caught between rational knowledge of flatness and interpretation of depth. There is mistrust between space in the picture plane because of the flatness of the image, which exists as a metaphor in the struggle for one to find their own identity.

SOCIAL SPACE

The incorporation of social space is through process. I began to collect images and data from Google Maps of St. Louisans routines and objects found along my own routine in order to incorporate them into paintings and sculptures. The collection of Google maps is an archival system of recording human navigational patterns in urban environments.

The text below was used to kick off the social aspect of space in the work. It was e-mailed to the CriticalMass Yahoo Group, posted on Craigslist, and e-mailed to all of the graduate art students at Washington University.

Community Art Project With Out Leaving Your Computer

I am analyzing the navigation patterns of St. Louisans through Google Maps. By laying individual map upon map an abstract pattern is created which will be used as the foundation of the project. Certain navigational “hot spots,” places on the maps where many people travel through every day, will be analyzed formally, architecturally, and commercially in order to draw conclusions about the contemporary “cairns” in our society. A cairn is a manmade pile of stones that mark navigational routes, serve as monuments to the landscape, and mark burial sites.

To Participate: It only takes 5 minutes!

1. Go to http://maps.google.com/
2. Click “Get Directions”
3. Enter all of the stops on your daily routine
4. Create your map
5. Click “Send” or “Link” to get the URL
6. E-mail the URL to kfleisch@gmail.com, Subject Line: Cairn Map

I took the data of the Google Maps and put the mileage traveled, time traveled, and type of travel (bike, car, walking) into in a Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet in order to visualize the data through various graphs. I also began connecting multiple maps to create abstract patterns. Both of these visual systems I created were laid onto paintings and into sculptures in development of mental and physical spaces. I am experimenting with different ways to use the data.

The maps and objects force me to ask myself many questions: What does it mean to travel a specific distance in one day? What is the experience of travel? How do our routines develop personal identities? Why are humans comfortable with familiarity and repetition? What is the effect of visual overload caused by the speed of modern transportation systems and technology? How does the shape of the map reflect identity?

PHYSICAL SPACE

Cairns in the mountains of Mongolia are built to visually connect the earth and sky with materials whose shapes and colors metaphorically bring them together. They sit as religious sites and monuments to nature and it’s wonder.
Through my work this semester I am visually connecting objects and images that create our identity and reference social forces. While navigating my own routine I come across objects and use them to build cairns and influence images, shapes, colors, and textures that I reference in paintings.

The steel pieces are artifacts of urban life, and the string a means of visualizing how materials shape our identity through layering and repetition. I’m interested in the tension that is created through the original creation of these objects, their life, destruction, and the reinstatement of their importance through sculpture. In The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard discusses the lived experiences of architecture and the unconscious effect of architectures on the self and identity. The found objects used in the sculptures hold the memories of lived experiences, and connect those experiences with the viewer who can relate personal experiences with similar objects, discovering the object’s history, heightening the viewer’s encounter with the sculptures.

ART HISTORICAL INFLUENCES AND THEORY

There is a tension between Modernist aesthetics and Post-Modern process and intention. In The Reenchantment of Art, Suzi Gablik references philosopher David Levin, who suggests that art, like life, should acknowledge the interconnectedness of self and the world. My investigation of the cairn as identity and monument to human nature emphasizes the interconnectedness of life and its wonder. My personal theory is akin to the Structuralists and Post-Structuralists that emerged in the 1960s. The Structuralists used the scientific method to search for underlying codes, systems, and structures to obtain truths about the world and social interaction. They attempted to explain by identifying hidden systems, purging subjectivity. In response, the Post-Structuralists stated that it was impossible to identify clear meaning, rejecting the scientific method and rational inquiry. They suggest that culture creates the self, emphasizing the collapse of boundaries between philosophy, literary theory, and social theory.

My work creates space through abstraction, and a place for the viewer to find a unique message in regard to their own personal identities and history through a formalist investigation of materials. I begin like the Structuralists, investigating maps and psychological processes by asking questions and developing hypothesis using the scientific method. However, my use of the data derived from Structuralist inquiry follows the Post-Structuralist methodology, collapsing boundaries and moving beyond science to reveal truths about the self and identity through unscientific, primal methods of feeling and thinking.

I want to be surprised, to find something new. I don’t want to know the answer before but want an answer that can surprise. Eva Hesse.

TEXTS READ AND REVIEWED

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. 1994. Beacon Press: Boston.

Bergson, Henri. Matter and Memory. 1912. G. Allen & Co.: London.

Blotkamp, Carel, Freeman, Judi, Tuchman, Maurice. The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985/ Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 1986. Abbeville Press: New York.

Cooper, Helen A. Eva Hesse: A Retrospective. 1992. Yale University Press: New Haven.

De Zegher, Catherine. Eva Hesse Drawing. 2006. The Drawing Center and Yale University Press: New York.

Felshin, Nina. But is it art?: The Spirit of Art as Activism. 1995. Bay Press: Seattle. Essay by Peggy Diggs, Private Acts and Public Art.

Gablik, Suzi. The Reenchantment of Art. 1991. Thames and Hudson: New York.

Jones, Amelia, Warr, Tracy. The Artist’s Body: Themes and Motives. 2000. Phaidon: London.

Koren, Leonard. Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. 1994. Imperfect Publishing: Point Reyes.

Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. 1991. Blackwell: Cambridge.

Tufte, Edward R. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. 1997. Graphics Press: Cheshire.

Yates, Steve. The Poetics of Space: A Photographic Anthology. 1995. University of New Mexico Press: Albuquerque.

Zeki, Semir. Inner Vision An Exploration of Art and the Brain. 1999. Oxford UniversityPress: Oxford.