Art form: 2-D

Medium: Graphite on Paper

Year created: 2006

Description of work: These drawings are NOT about abortion. They are a visual metaphor for the neglect and abuse of living children by adults. My exhibit for Art Prize is a series of seven graphite drawings on paper, each image measuring 10” x 8”. The series was executed over the course of four years, at the same time that I was working on other related pieces. Each of these extremely delicate drawings are surrounded by a large white mat and housed in a simple graphite colored frame. The total framed dimension of each individual piece is 38” x 31 ¼”. PLEASE NOTE: In order to view the drawings in this series on the Photobucket website, you must access Photobucket using the URL provided and click on the album titled “Art Prize”. The album is password protected, and the password is: rockman (all lower case). Thank you for viewing my work.

Work statement: My work critiques socio-cultural practices and conditions and their inherent absurdities and contradictions, especially in relation to those external forces that contribute to the formation of our sense of self. In examining the powerful role of those responsible for the welfare and development of our most significant and vulnerable resource - our children - it becomes apparent that a learned legacy of ignorance, neglect and abuse continues to thrive even while we turn away in denial or disbelief. This portrait series, titled The Danger of Being Born, symbolically reflects my desire to acknowledge the suffering of those who are most powerless and vulnerable in our culture. My response, through the process of careful and controlled drawing, is to enact what is lacking in the lives of so many wounded children – an extremely soft and delicate touch, patience in encouraging each face to reveal itself, and a gentle coaxing of form into being. It is a symbolic act of nurturing and reverence.