Pipe Cleaner:

Over the last half of the summer, I have been taking a class called Picasso to Pollack. It's basically a class focusing on modern art made during the first half of the twentieth century. Even though I found myself familiar with most of the artists and artworks discussed in the class, I did find the class to be an excellent refresher course on the things that I did already know while informing me about the things that I didn't. The piece below is a piece that I have been familiar with for a better part of my adult life. The first time I saw this piece, I was very confused. The French text below says "This is not a pipe". I remember thinking to myself after the first time I saw it, "Yes it is!" It seems I had a very hard time differentiating between a pipe and a depiction of a pipe.

Rene Magritte, The Treachery of Images, 1928-29, oil on canvas

Now, after being in college for more than five years now, the difference seems immediately obvious. Well, most of the time. Every once in a while, I see this painting and I think to myself, "This is not a pipe? No, that's wrong. It is a pipe. What else could it be? Yes it is". The piece below represents something that I have been thinking about making for a very long time but never got around to it until now.

Pipe I, pen and collage on canvas, 2012

After I finished the piece, I still found myself feeling a bit unsatisfied. Soon, I began to cut out more shapes that looked like pipes to move around on blank pieces of paper.

Pipe II, collage on paper, 2012

As my mind started to wander I couldn't help but thing about sex and the subconscious. That led me to this weird little collage below. I'm sure the surrealists would be proud.

Pipe III, collage on paper, 2012

After that last one, I felt the urge to go in another direction...

Pipe IV, collage and watercolor on paper, 2012

I had originally intended to make an exact copy of the last image with the added text. However, I hadn't paid attention to the fact that I had run out of pipes. I found myself with this interesting little piece on my hands. I decided that I had an adequate response to Magritte. It was a good day in the studio.

Pipe V, pen and watercolor on paper, 2012