"continental drift" Painting

risd grad,.,,
Arthur Moore
Artist Statement 2016
My work is a search for universalities and the triggers that expose them. I like to explore conscious and unconscious thoughts and experiences. I untangle dreams and visions in order to focus on divining insights and perceptions. The marks, colors, forms and images reveal universal truths. The work’s appearance may change but not its truth. After a time, I hope that we are left with feelings of mystery and a fascination with uncertainty.
I paint in layers, cut, burn and melt, then paint again. The process repeats. Traditional encaustic methods are used, along with appropriated intaglio and engraving techniques. I consider the top ⅛ inch of paint like a plate I’m able to cut into. I achieve this with anything that scratches the paint surface: screwdriver, dremel, fork, twigs, dental tools, razor blade and sources of heat. I hide and overlap fragments of pattern. This process of hiding, then exposing simple forms and ideas within complex and informative painting is partially planned. As layers are exposed or left, the process tells me when to stop or push it further. (Pentimento: a reappearance in a painting of an original drawn or painted element which was eventually painted over by the artist. Merriam-Webster dictionary.)
I want to elicit viewer response to promote curiosity, uncertainty, suspense and perhaps calmness or serenity. I’d like to dream that these viewer experiences could help address effects of violence, abuse, bullying and the resulting feelings of uselessness or helplessness. Ideas and concepts in paintings are like dust bunnies....lurking in corners and under your bed. When you open the door or reach out, truths move out of sight and out of reach. If you continue to live in a secret, the secret means you must always lie, having a story you can never tell. A search through the complexity of texture, layers, and color assists the discovery of what’s important. I want to alter baseline conditions of viewing to anticipate a new kind of viewing. I’m not interested in politics of art or political correctness. When artists talk and label, it’s possible to diminish the experience. Art is not about specifics but a general effect. Often, one paints air! Time passes and details fade. I’m not interested in teaching meaning. The paintings resist meaning. Uncertainty can be the content.