Self Portrait In The Garden, 2010

 

I use cast-off and neglected things and care for and transform them. The MVSEVM is a giant self-portrait, and I am a proud member in good standing of the ranks of navel-gazing artists; I hold the belief that each individual reflects our society as a whole. I seek to commune across intellectual, emotional, and spiritual spheres, and I strive for vulnerability and honesty. Compassion and empathy are among our greatest gifts and I am working to cultivate these states of being through the medium of art.

At this point and time in America, and across much of the world,  we are raised on a steady diet of advertainment, while at the same time, most of us unthinkingly participate within our society’s institutions.  Our internalized comparison/evaluation (a.k.a, value and belief) systems form within this environment. Simultaneously, the possibility and promise of individual expression is purportedly held in high esteem, and is even considered tantamount to individual existence and freedom. Thus, in this era of outward-looking, entertainment-oriented, star/fame-centric, media-dominated culture, how many of us take the time to search within ourselves, or even have that inclination? Much of what passes as individual expression today, is simply a regurgitation of collective beliefs and values.

Standing against the ebb of externalized moral and intellectual responsibility, my work is an intimate internal exploration of the primal questions and experiences surrounding human existence.  As an artist I have chosen to make time and space for this exploration of supreme importance in my life. I believe that intention is integral to art. It is my intention to reveal my deepest beliefs, desires, and experiences to my self and others. I believe that “The Personal is Political” and that the parts reflect the whole.

In my life and work, to the degree that I am able, I am an individual sublimating collective institutions. I am a museum, I educate myself and my offspring, I heal myself and others, I am a religious organization.

From the Domain of Paula.

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