Design as a subtext to the human experience
My personal philosophy regarding design is deeply embedded with my formal education at the Rochester Institute of Technology. We studied the history of visual communication where the avant-garde caught my attention in a life altering way. I fell in love with the idea that design and 2D fundamentals were not only aesthetic, they were political in nature.
Constructivism, derived from Russian Suprematism, Dutch Neo Plasticism (De Stijl) and the German Bauhaus, was taught in depth along with the Modernist ideology in my foundations classes, as well as, Graphic Design courses. While working in advertising, marketing agencies and the editorial profession, the concept of working with grids to organize information and creating hierarchies became crucial to creating unified designs. The Constructivists fusion of art and political commitment also influences my fine art and is undeniably evident in the recent Playing With Fire Exhibit Posters.
The lessons of the Futurists came next during my formal education at RIT. The exploration into all realms of art including painting, sculpture, poetry, theatre, music, and architecture and gastronomy astounded me. The totality of their thinking and the comprehensiveness of the Futurist agenda attracted my attention. The desire to be in the present and away from artistic tradition is symbolic in the way I view life and art. I am a postmodernist in the sense that design must move forward even if influenced by the past. Technology continues to triumph over man and I have a desire to keep up with how it is being utilized, aesthetically and politically. When viewing my paintings, the line quality moves between static and dynamic. The principles of movement and repetition create dynamic pieces, whether in museum pieces or collateral work meant for the consumer.
When I was presented with the Dada movement, I once again was delighted to learn that design is not only a visual philosophy but also a philosophy in life and the world we will live in. The Dada sensibility that change is inevitable, and that there are times for formality and there are times for embracing the irrational, has led to creative risk taking and experimentation in both my design for the marketplace, my design incorporated into my fine art and life.