Artist's Statements About Individual Works

Trees (vs. urban sprawl)

Pigment print of scanned and computer-altered original drawing of rain-soaked building in downtown Philadelphia, with digital typography • 7.5 x 5 • 2003

During a hotel stay in downtown Philadelphia, I was struck by the rather bleak view from my window as the rain hammered the buildings as far as the eye could see (not very far, with all those buildings). When the sun came out, the drying rain made interesting streaks and patterns on the various construction materials, so I did a sketch that became increasingly abstract as I became increasingly mesmerized by the decorative beauty of the scene. Still, my thoughts held fast to my original impression: Here are all these “improvements” — and nary a hint of the original landscape. The eye longed to see a tree, and it seemed to me that the best way to plant this idea (and to point out the reality of the situation) was to use quotations. Typography to the rescue!— for type is as beautiful to me as any living thing and, for this particular cityscape, its rather abstract qualities seemed a perfect fit, as well.