© 2007 D.J. McGareldigital piece entitled: Being
2007
This piece is part of an art exhibit entitled,
‘Portrait Without A Face.’
I begin each one of my pieces by drawing, painting and/or tossing dye onto a canvas. I then scan the painting onto my computer altering the image using two computer programs, Photoshop and/or Jasc PaintShop Pro. My mixed media pieces evolve when I take this digital image and then restructure this image upon the canvas surrounded by acrylic paints, torn and/or ripped paper or canvas, metal and various other items adhered onto the canvas. Each segment of this process should stand alone and have its own identity. I sometimes then re-photograph and/or rescan the mixed media pieces back into the computer and re-create a new digital art piece. This can become an endless circular process of digital, mixed media, digital and then mixed media.
One explanation for me using this technique as my mode of expression is that I am symbolizing the creation of an endless continuous life cycle: birth, death and rebirth. But I rather take a more post structural view for my creative expression, by asking the viewer/critic to be involved in the interpretation of my art. In my opinion, art and the expression of which is dialogical. It is a multi-faceted conversation that should proceed as a dialogue between the artist and the viewer. A more dialogical approach to this form of communication should be obtained in order to fully appreciate as well as one can the artist intent from multiple levels of expression. As such, I reject the idea that there is one purpose, one meaning and one singular concept that can sum up anything from whether it is a work of what society defines as art to the whole complex structure of what we, as a society call reality.
I prefer to work in the abstract because it gives the viewer/critic more of an opportunity to make an independent interpretation of my art work. I like expressing my works in the forms of grids depicting the fragmentation of life.
As such, I choose to call this series ‘Portrait Without A Face’ because some of the main concepts depicted within these works are the expression of hidden desires, Carl Jung’s theory of our hidden self in relationship to our known self, the emotional state of individuals and society as a whole, and that life constantly re-creates and invents itself. We, as in Baudrillard’s theories, create our own reality.
Influences for my own artistic self expression include such contemporary artists as Mike and Doug Starn whose torn-up photographs introduced to me the concept of having the viewer feel the photo in a similar fashion as having the viewer feel the paint of a painting.
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