In 2015, when I made this wall-hanging sculpture, I was feeling frustrated by the ways in which everybody seemed to be broadcasting past each other, without any kind of listening or real connection. I wanted to make something that really spoke to how little actually gets communicated in an oversaturated media world. I covered a whole monitor in a sheet of rusted steel, leaving only a narrow slit behind which video dances blurrily, colorfully, invitingly. It was important that the video be something meaningful, earnest, real; I found some footage of a bear (my family nickname), shot by my grandfather in the 1950’s. My hope for this piece was that it both be a kind of illustration or materialization of the problem but also a vehicle for healing. The slow pace and silence of the video, combined with the earthy warmth of rust and the organic, gestural shape of the cutout were intentionally combined as a kind of antidote to the noise and chaos of the media landscape.

In true grad-school form, I had to install the piece and document it before the rust had time to develop. The video to the right shows the final finish of the oxidized steel.