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Art Projects

Color Studies Exhibition

Color Studies (2004) brings together three works that question the construction of race as it relates to identity, skin color, perception, categories, and hierarchies in U.S. American culture. Gallery 111, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.

Crayola Monologues

Crayola Monologues (2003) uses the crayon as a human metaphor for exploring color and identity in the United States. These crayons live in a world much like our own, complete with prejudice, class boundaries, social hierarchies and those who fall between the lines.

Race Cube

Race Cube (2003) remodels the classic Rubik’s Cube with a racial twist. Rather than the abstract color separation of the original, the Race Cube poses a more concrete challenge: aligning images of people into categories based on race. Race Cube challenges racial perception and the fundamental assumption that distinct racial lines exist.

Self-Portrait

The work displays Ralph Lauren paint swatches arranged in a grid and held between two sheets of transparent acrylic. Self-Portrait (2002) is not only a representation of identity in terms of the artist’s self-image, but also a symbol of how people unknowingly frame their judgments using a limited palette.

Suspect

On October 4th, 2001, I was reported to the FBI as a Middle-Eastern man taking pictures of bridges in Albany, New York. Suspect (2002) juxtaposes the source footage I was shooting when reported, framed by FBI warnings and a pseudo-official “FBI TV” logo, with legislation that describes this type of footage as illegal to possess or distribute.

Wanted

If an art student with a camera is cause enough to be reported to the FBI, what’s next? This photo illustration mocks the harmless nature of my "crime" by taking it to its logical extreme. An FBI wanted poster. Wanted (2002) also questions the line between art and forgery as a federal crime.

0v3r104d

0v3r104d (2002) reconstructs the saturation of red, white and blue in the cultural and media landscape of the US after September 11, 2001. The buzzy, machine-like barrage of sound and strobe light style makes the flag appear as a flickering neon advertisement nearing burnout. As the image undergoes generation loss, the original soon becomes unrecognizable.

Musical Improvisation Studies

These studies attempted to extend the vocabulary of the piano by capturing and playing back live processed accompaniment during performance. Captured with contact microphones, processed using MaxMSP, and controlled by MIDI foot pedals, the study developed into an improvisational system for live piano and electronics (2002).

Scratch

This video examines the process of trying repeatedly to create something meaningful. Using montage and repetition to convey the looping nature of trial and error, Scratch (2001) focuses on the process itself rather than the end product.

chaos dot swf

This Macromedia Flash generated movie explodes into a collage of shapes, a chaotic yet aesthetic display. Multiple versions of chaos dot swf ‘s (2001) final frame were printed 3ft by 8ft.

National Anthem

Immediatedly following September 11, 2001, U.S. flags branded the landscape. For some, it was a symbol of solidarity, but for others, it was an obligation. National Anthem (2001) is an attempt to survey the plethora of flags, comment on its use and reveal a deeper social pain.

Dominoes

Dominoes draws attention to the cause and effect relationship. All things affect other things, which were and continue to be affected by even more things. This simple but deep metaphor is demonstrated using dominoes and other objects.

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