Paul Raff

My art always begins by considering the situation itself as the medium. I think of the whole world, from cityscapes to the natural world, as an artwork; as a dynamic and ever-changing three-dimensional environmental performance. From my earliest explorations in art, I have been influenced by the conceptual lexicon of the Situationist International movement, and by their idea of psycho-geography, in which the environment is believed to affect the behavior of individuals.

My artworks are conceived to integrate directly into urban landscapes, both reflecting and transforming our experience of the city, while making evident both visible and invisible cultural forces at play. These projects manifest an intense poetic connection between people and place, while drawing upon the expressive possibilities of often familiar and readily-available materials by bringing them into conversation with a receptive viewer or “experiencer.” This conceptual approach is the foundation of my artistic practice and defines my role as a member of a new generation of artist-architects seeking to expand and shape the collective experience of the contemporary city.

My work frequently engages a passive-kinetic artistic strategy, whereby, without moving pa...