Fred Wilson

Drop Dripped

Drip Drop Plop

I'm not sure of the title, but it sits in the U.S. Pavilion

Speak of me as I am

Mining The Museum

Turbulence

Dark Dawn

While working in my studio, which doubles as my room, I've started to watch the ART 21 videos done by PBS. Art 21 is about artists in the 21st century. These videos take on 4 or 5 artists who focus or relate to one subject. The videos then explore the art with the artist leading the way. We used to watch them in art school all the time, but I thought it was important that I watch ALL of them.

Hearing an artist talk about their work has always been more or as intriguing to me as experiencing the work itself. I'm most interested in social commentary, the exploration of society and how our world works. Watching ART 21 the other day I ran across Fred Wilson, who I had forgotten about over the years. His ideas and philosophy behind the meaning of objects, how they represent history and society sounded familiar. Wilson explains, "I get everything that satisfies my soul, form bringing together objects that are in the world, manipulating them, working with spatial arrangements, and having things presented in the way I want to see them." I work this way as well, using the objects themselves to speak, almost as evidence or a testament to the past. For me the objects often represent a secret kept hidden from the present.

I also relate to Fred Wilson's use of "Black Tears." He blows these beautiful fluid objects out of opaque black glass, sometimes giving them eyes. These simple shapes represent Black people themselves. Or maybe its a sadness or a pain they represent. I use eggs in the same way, representing women.

Fred Wilson has taught me a lot about my own work and I wanted to share some of his images.