

“Moving
Picture” (March 2002) was the second installation in the Santa Barbara
Contemporary Arts Forum’s GLASSBOX space. A motor jiggled hundreds of
squares that were hung in front of a deep blue canvas and painted with a vortex
pattern. Throughout the day, seemingly with a life of it's own the squares moved
in a variety of rhythms, from peacefully serene to frantically frenetic. The
piece alluded to a number of elements from nature and the history of art. The
Impressionists interest in depicting the elusive nature of water (with it’s
simultaneous presentation of surface, depth, and reflection, it can also be
seen as a metaphor for painting in general) is present here in color and in
the floating squares/ paint daubs. Historically the daubs of the Impressionists
eventually gave way to modernist grid, which in the current situation is obviously
alluded to, but relieved from some of it’s severity by the literal movement,
which can be seen as alternately (or simultaneously) serene, goofy, sexual,
playful or frantic.