In the work of simply being a human, I have experienced artistic expression as a personally useful thing. I know this is true for others too; in fact, I am convinced of its profound universality.

So, I believe these questions belong to everyone, and thus pursue them with the Direct Message cohort: Who does art belong to in our culture? What impact does technology-embodied capitalism have on the creative human voice? What does the paradox of deeply personal/thrillingly collective truth do for the human spirit?



Towards this end, Direct Message both produces and leverages a series of paintings and poems. Here, my role as artist is to facilitate a conversation. 

By creating works in oil around poems by myself and others, I am locating this conversation within the following: art/literary history, the language of imagery, and the human practice of creativity. By conducting workshops that make unceremonious use of my paintings, I am allowing this conversation to fuel itself with 'IRL' Direct Messages: that is, products of artistic human expression.