On Narcissus

Narcissus (from the series World of One)

As the name implies, this piece was inspired by the story of Narcissus from Greek myth. In summation, Narcissus was a hunter who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. He then died of starvation, as he refused to take his eyes off himself. This is essentially meant to be a cautionary tale: Basically, don't be too much of a douche.

I feel as if we now live in a hyper-narcissistic society. Social media has enabled us all to live in our own digital "World of One"s. Whenever we sign online, the digital world that we inhabit is personalized and catered towards our specific needs. In other words, it's all about us. We now literally watch other people watching us. To me, it feels like my reflection has run away and has taken on a life of its own, not all that different from Peter Pan's shadow.

The great post-modernist philosopher Michel Foucault famously described society as a Panopticon: A special type of prison in the shape of a nipple, with the guard tower in the middle and the cells surround the tower in the outer ring. The inmates can't see into the guard tower, but the guards can see into the cells, giving the inmates the feeling that they are always being watched. Foucault said that, in society, we are simultaneously both guards as well as inmates of the Panopticon that makes up our social landscape. I find that this has never been more true than it is now. Big Brother is already here, and it is us: Our own reflections stare back at us, watching us from the pool.

Treasure Hunt

The most common question I get from people in regards to my work is usually something along the lines of, "What does this mean?" Generally, and like a reflex, when I hear this question, the first thought that runs through my brain is, "After you finish a book, do you get to ask an author what the moral of the story is? Do you even care what they think???" Of course, I never say that. After all I'm biased to convince them to actually buy my shit (art), so I tend to give them my best art school bullshit. That is to say, I'm not interested in what I think about the work. Of course, I like it, otherwise I wouldn't be showing it. But what I’m interested in is other peoples' interpretations of my work. I can tell you what the work means to me, but what I really want to know is what the work means to you, the viewer.

Be that as it may, at this point anyway, no one else is really writing about my work. Most of my audience, especially for this blog, is made up of my friends (and the majority of which are bboys) who, through no fault of their own, are lacking the proper tools to interpret any art in an a more engaging sort of way (Josh!!). Like pretty-sounding lyrics sung in a foreign language, the meaning of the song goes straight over your head.

So in order to help nudge people along towards the path of engagement, and because I don't think anyone will write about my work anyway, I've decided that I am going to start posting more about what some of my work means to me. Naturally, some work is easier to talk about than other work (as a byproduct of some work being much better than others). And I will make these informational postes completely at my own discretion. Since I feel like I'm kinda bending the rules here a little bit, when I post these "narcissistic self serving reviews," as you will, I'm not going to promote them. Instead, it will be the jobs of whoever's interested to come back and find them on their own. This is a treasure hunt after all, and it will be starting..................................NOW!

BBoy Monster: El Nino

BBoy Monster: El Nino, Vitruvian BBoy

Happy new year everyone! Trying set this year off right, today I unveil my latest creation.

Behold! The BBoy Monster: El Nino!!!

If you're a bboy, this guy needs no introduction. If you're a bboy and you've never heard of him, then you're doin' it wrong! El Nino has been a dominating figure in the bboy scene for over a decade...which is ridiculous when you consider the fact that he's barely old enough to drink! It's pretty difficult to overstate his bboy credentials. At age 11 he teamed up with Kmel of the legendary Boogie Brats crew to win Lords of the Floor (the precursor to Redbull BC One, for many the most coveted title in bboying). At age 19 he became the youngest recipient of the Spy Award (breaking's equivalent of a lifetime achievement award) given by the Rocksteady Crew. Showing no signs of slowing down he continues to travel the world teaching workshops, entering jams, and smashing/inspiring bboys' dreams everywhere.

I felt both an honored and humbled to be able to work with him on these pictures. While there are definitely some glaring technical mistakes in terms of the photography here (my old studio lighting teacher is probably pulling her hair out right now). In terms of creating the illusion of one body with multiple limbs working together, I think this was one of my more successful attempts.

BBoy Monster: El Nino, Super Chair

BBoy Monster: El Nino, Face Grab of Death