Works from the American Time series 2010-2019
American Time
American Time was created during a residency at Ucross in Wyoming. The series presents an intersection of Asian cultural and architectural motifs against the open expansiveness of the American West.
The works blur notions of physical place and culture. Shimmering pearlescent and saturated neon colors, drawn from symbolic hues of Asian religious traditions, create a physical vibration against the empty background space.
Further obscuring issues of place and culture, the works are titled after remote American western towns, such as Quartz Site or Diamondville, names bearing their own palimpsests, oral histories and varied provenances of origin. Irradiated by an unrelenting desert sun, disparate worlds are linked and questioned, one’s place in the world is both established and dislodged.
each work: acrylic on paper, unique silkscreen; 40” x 26”
40" x 26"
Acrylic on paper
Ten Sleep, Washakie County, Wyoming was an American Indian rest stop, so called because it was 10 days' travel, or "10 sleeps," from Fort Laramie (southeast), Yellowstone Park (west-northwest), and the Indian Agency on Stillwater River, Montana (northwest).It is the former site of the Girl Scout National Center West, one of the largest encampments in the world at 15,000 acres.
40" x 26"
Acrylic on paper
Diamondville, Lincoln County, Wyoming was named for the superior-grade coal that came from the local mines. The coal resembled black diamonds. It is also the name of the entertainment web site for the onstage and backstage personnel for Neil Diamond.
40" x 26"
Acrylic on paper
Thief River Falls takes its name from the falls of the nearby Thief River, literally the "Stolen-land river" which originated when a band of Dakota Indians occupied a secret encampment, hence "stealing" the land. 50% of Thief River Falls residents identify as Norwegian-American, making the town one of the most ethnically concentrated towns in the nation.
40" x 26"
Acrylic on paper
Radium Springs, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. Population: 1,699; 635 households, 12.0% with a female householder, no husband. Per capita income: $20,497. The acrid yellow palate and the title also reference the recent toxic ash poisons in the Dan River in North Carolina.
40" x 26"
Acrylic on paper
Spangle,Spokane County, Washington. Population: 278, 118 households, and 74 families. The name is from William Spangle, early pioneer. Butch Cassidy died there.
40" x 26"
Acrylic on paper
Sugar City, Madison County, Idaho. Population: 1,514. Original home of the Fremont County Sugar Company, 1903.
