The LA River Trials Motivation

Disbelief, armageddon, absurdity. The sight of the concrete embankment containing the LA River smacks of human and environmental imbalance. It wasn't the first time I'd seen this spectacle. Nearly thirty years ago I trembled watching the Terminator careen his motorcycle through this urbanite maze. On the once wild LA River, Schwarzenegger's blockbuster aptly shot a story about the end of days. I wasn't concerned the ebbing river had been tamed with steel & sand in the name of humanity. The glorified gutter was a fantasy I needed not reckon.

Manufactured landscapes are fascinating fossils. Look how a series of sensible decisions stacked age upon age can amount to such supreme dominion. The marveling epitome of man versus nature. The Army Corps of Engineers might see these concrete ditches as a public works success while the Sierra Club might see a failure. In either case, I hope we are but adolescents with a more mature story to come.

I nurture that hope by embracing analog chaos in defined regions of my printmaking process. This process involves two primary ingredients: water and sunlight sensitive dye. Depending upon the alkalinity of the river and the UV intensity of the sun, irreproducible visual designs can be transferred to a textile. I create these textile designs for their suitability to acoustic applications, but it's the process that motivates my work.

Forgive the beaten & discarded water from the LA River, let it seep into the fiber. Let there be tangible proof that we can still reach a more balanced state - be it in the EQ curve of the room, or in the spirit of a people.