MATT PICON

I am invested in creating relationships between traditional and non-traditional materials and how they communicate about form, history, and purpose to the viewer.  The objects and installations vary on material use, but are mainly constructed of repurposed wood and steel with other conventional materials applied in alternative ways.  Fabric is prominent within my sculptures, because of its adaptable characteristics and surface qualities.  The consolidation and specificity of materials and how they are manipulated, create cohesive and convincing entities that provide an authenticity that goes outside the individual textures, colors, and physical qualities of each material.  I am interested in the traces of immediacy concerning purpose, function, history, and the importance of the sculptures in relation to how diverse materials are intentionally transitioned together.

 

I am similarly interested in conceptual and aesthetic references of the Arte Povera (the literal translation “poor art”) movement of the 1960s.  Arte Povera was concerned with modernity’s ability to erase our sense of memory, and rely on the use of both old and new everyday materials to manipulate our sense of the effects of passing time.  The passing of time, historical functions of objects, and my collective memory has been a focal point, aesthetically and conceptually, in my sculptures.  In addition, the “image” has played an important role throughout my work, whether it is represented with large paper cutouts, or through projections and video installations. 

 

Using the “image” in my work expresses my desire to work with interdisciplinary techniques and new media to push the dialogue my sculptures and installations create with the viewer.  Through this process of object making, ritual has also become an essential component both in the method of construction and communication of the work.  The rituals associated with the development of my work create a connection through repetition that are incorporated in the aesthetics of each piece. The end result of these processes are sculptures with “relic-like” fragments and unclear intentions that evoke ritual, artifacts, memory, and personal experiences.

 

Sculptures from my previous body of work entitled – Coyotes, Whiskey, and Fireworks, are based on historical research, observations, and personal experiences in the Mojave Desert, specifically the Antelope Valley in Southern California.  Calling Lancaster, CA my home during my formative years, I found it necessary to revisit and focus on not just my memories of the region but also the stories that came before my own.  In response I created sculptures and installations that addressed the landscape, suburban development, homesteads, historical forms, and personal stories.