ARTIST’S STATEMENTPumps with a Purpose Project, 2009 (Sponsored by the Courier newspaper, Waterloo, Iowa)
Seeds of Hope makes prominent on its web homepage the phrase, “A nurturing world free from violence.” This is precisely the world I want to live in, but I never kid myself into feeling too comfortable. As a gay man, I am always alert to the smile that is too calculating. I know that a joyful laugh can precede an epithet and a friendly handshake can become a chokehold.
The piece I have created for this project and fundraiser is my vision of the dexterity, power, and authority of flight. In this case, the sculpture invokes the alert posture prior to takeoff, that moment before movement, and the exhilaration of feeling boundless. The colors, patterns, and textures are deliberate. To me, they represent the bounty of life and the colossal will of nature to be shamelessly brilliant.
This composition resonates with me and helps tell my own story. It is also an image that makes me happy and hopeful.
