Neal Bashor
A device is helpful in the way it effectively changes the way we think about ordinary things. A kitchen sink faucet, with a retractable hose, allows tap water to be contained and redirected.
Water manipulated out of a faucet changes how water is perceived – how it is seen and experienced. Sculpture has the ability to disrupt perceptions of architectural sameness, inherent material purposes and civilized repetition: a squiggle turns upward and levels out over there, a three-dimensional brush stroke is a graphic gesture laid over a natural surface, like thick stage makeup on a clean face.
By forcing thin planks of cedar through a wood steaming process, curved wood remnants are manipulated into unpredictable inquiries. Applying paint adds gesture, following the movements of each board’s form, resulting in shapes removed from their material and positioned to disrupt your expectations, replacing realness with a cartoon verisimilitude.