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Independence Day stirs thoughts in me about the visual aesthetics of the United States and the role artists, architects, and designers play in constructing American visual identity. I’ve always been fascinated at how so much of American architectural style is based on Classical proportions.

Today I read about the NYC Washington Monument Project from the 19th Century. Numerous proposals were designed by a range of architects in the mid 1840’s. The initial proposal was by Calvin Pollard and Gothic in style, a style described by John Frazee as “foreign to free enlightened Republican people.� Other architects offered alternative designs of various Gothic, Neo-Classical, and even Egyptian influence. While the selection of designs I’ve shown here are vastly different in character from one to another, they all do share a certain unity of thought with Robert Mills’s Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., upon which construction began in 1848. Mills’s simpler form (when compared to the NYC project proposals) anticipate Modernism’s clean lines while the obelisk form itself echoes not only Ancient Egypt but the great Egyptian obelisk’s so adored in Ancient Rome as well.

The visual identity of America is firmly connected to the ancient world, the great foundations of modern Western civilization. In more recent years our aesthetics have evolved, embracing more original forms that are less attached (but still indebted) to the past. Look at more recent memorials such as Lei Yixin’s MLK Jr Memorial, Lawrence Halprin’s FDR Memorial, and Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. These designs reflect a more forward-thinking culture. We are no longer concerned with creating the aesthetic foundations of a new country and are now free, instead, to embrace the rich diversity of the American people—a diversity envisioned by our founders—with new aesthetics and new designs. Our memorials—whether national, regional, or local—not only remember the past but aid us in creating a new future. I can only imagine who and what one day will be memorialized from 21st Century America. Will future designers create new aesthetics that we cannot even fathom now? I do hope so.

As for NYC’s Washington Monument, though Minard Lafever’s design was the chosen winner, it was never constructed. The city’s first memorial to Washington finally came about in 1856 in a much more modest form. On 4 July, Henry Kirke Brown and John Quincy Adams Ward’s equestrian statue of the great president was unveiled in Union Square, where it stands to this day.

Independence Day stirs thoughts in me about the visual aesthetics of the United States and the role artists, architects, and designers play in constructing American visual identity. I’ve always been fascinated at how so much of American architectural style is based on Classical proportions.

Today I read about the NYC Washington Monument Project from the 19th Century. Numerous proposals were designed by a range of architects in the mid 1840’s. The initial proposal was by Calvin Pollard and Gothic in style, a style described by John Frazee as “foreign to free enlightened Republican people.� Other architects offered alternative designs of various Gothic, Neo-Classical, and even Egyptian influence. While the selection of designs I’ve shown here are vastly different in character from one to another, they all do share a certain unity of thought with Robert Mills’s Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., upon which construction began in 1848. Mills’s simpler form (when compared to the NYC project proposals) anticipate Modernism’s clean lines while the obelisk form itself echoes not only Ancient Egypt but the great Egyptian obelisk’s so adored in Ancient Rome as well.

The visual identity of America is firmly connected to the ancient world, the great foundations of modern Western civilization. In more recent years our aesthetics have evolved, embracing more original forms that are less attached (but still indebted) to the past. Look at more recent memorials such as Lei Yixin’s MLK Jr Memorial, Lawrence Halprin’s FDR Memorial, and Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. These designs reflect a more forward-thinking culture. We are no longer concerned with creating the aesthetic foundations of a new country and are now free, instead, to embrace the rich diversity of the American people—a diversity envisioned by our founders—with new aesthetics and new designs. Our memorials—whether national, regional, or local—not only remember the past but aid us in creating a new future. I can only imagine who and what one day will be memorialized from 21st Century America. Will future designers create new aesthetics that we cannot even fathom now? I do hope so.

As for NYC’s Washington Monument, though Minard Lafever’s design was the chosen winner, it was never constructed. The city’s first memorial to Washington finally came about in 1856 in a much more modest form. On 4 July, Henry Kirke Brown and John Quincy Adams Ward’s equestrian statue of the great president was unveiled in Union Square, where it stands to this day.

Independence Day stirs thoughts in me about the visual aesthetics of the United States and the role artists, architects, and designers play in constructing American visual identity. I’ve always been fascinated at how so much of American architectural style is based on Classical proportions.

Today I read about the NYC Washington Monument Project from the 19th Century. Numerous proposals were designed by a range of architects in the mid 1840’s. The initial proposal was by Calvin Pollard and Gothic in style, a style described by John Frazee as “foreign to free enlightened Republican people.� Other architects offered alternative designs of various Gothic, Neo-Classical, and even Egyptian influence. While the selection of designs I’ve shown here are vastly different in character from one to another, they all do share a certain unity of thought with Robert Mills’s Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., upon which construction began in 1848. Mills’s simpler form (when compared to the NYC project proposals) anticipate Modernism’s clean lines while the obelisk form itself echoes not only Ancient Egypt but the great Egyptian obelisk’s so adored in Ancient Rome as well.

The visual identity of America is firmly connected to the ancient world, the great foundations of modern Western civilization. In more recent years our aesthetics have evolved, embracing more original forms that are less attached (but still indebted) to the past. Look at more recent memorials such as Lei Yixin’s MLK Jr Memorial, Lawrence Halprin’s FDR Memorial, and Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. These designs reflect a more forward-thinking culture. We are no longer concerned with creating the aesthetic foundations of a new country and are now free, instead, to embrace the rich diversity of the American people—a diversity envisioned by our founders—with new aesthetics and new designs. Our memorials—whether national, regional, or local—not only remember the past but aid us in creating a new future. I can only imagine who and what one day will be memorialized from 21st Century America. Will future designers create new aesthetics that we cannot even fathom now? I do hope so.

As for NYC’s Washington Monument, though Minard Lafever’s design was the chosen winner, it was never constructed. The city’s first memorial to Washington finally came about in 1856 in a much more modest form. On 4 July, Henry Kirke Brown and John Quincy Adams Ward’s equestrian statue of the great president was unveiled in Union Square, where it stands to this day.

Last year I made my first major foray into installation art. I created the site-specific work the woods are watching and released . While that work was part of my larger , it also marked the beginning of this new earth-based aspect of my practice.

Today I’m proud to debut my newest piece, which is titled convergence. This new piece takes me further down the path of creating art that interacts with the land and the environment.

convergence is a synthesis of a few different influences. The literary influence is present in the title itself, which is inspired by Flannery O’Connor’s short story collection, Everything That Rises Must Converge. But the initial visual inspiration is the excavation of an old family cemetery (it was in the process of being moved so that a highway could be constructed) that I visited in 2010 while I was researching my project. The work also engages with history in a site-specific way. I talk more about this in the video itself—so be sure to check it out!

And then ! Using the tractor to make this piece was so much fun. I couldn’t have done it without my father. The two of us haven’t always had a lot of common ground so the fact that my art can become a place to meet in the middle is quite astounding to me. I wasn’t interested in letting him teach me to do things like drive a tractor when I was a teenager. I’m glad he’s willing to teach me now, even if it’s for reasons he never would have expected. I am so grateful for his help. Art has the power to make connections. Onward and upward! We are converging!

It’s really hard to explain just how excited I am about this project. I like doing installation and video art because it’s a natural synthesis of my interdisciplinary interests. I’ve never felt comfortable with single medium labels such as “photographer� or “poet� or “writer.� These words only describe part of me and part of my work. Bringing together all those creative expressions (and more) with my ability to plan, organize, and execute projects is such a source of joy for me.

As always, thank you for checking out my work. Please so you’re sure not to miss any future videos!

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If you’re on the bd email list, you already know about my new zine (if you’re not on the list, do !). I debuted this new work at the 8th Annual Rainbow Book Fair in New York City. This is the second year bd-studios.com tabled along with our sister publisher . We had a full table of artist publications and literary fiction available for purchase.

Kissing Hedwig is really special to me. The essay is a unique blend of memoir and Hedwig and the Angry Inch fanzine. The Hedwig show played an important part in my life as a young, queer artist coming of age in New York City in the late �90’s. This zine is the first time I’ve publicly told part of my coming out story. There’s more to tell—and one day I will. But, for now, I hope you’ll enjoy Kissing Hedwig. The zine is lovingly made, hand bound, and custom stamped. It’s made with lots of love and I can’t imagine a more perfect expression of the story it tells inside. if you’d like to buy a copy!

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If you’re on the bd email list, you already know about my new zine (if you’re not on the list, do !). I debuted this new work at the 8th Annual Rainbow Book Fair in New York City. This is the second year bd-studios.com tabled along with our sister publisher . We had a full table of artist publications and literary fiction available for purchase.

Kissing Hedwig is really special to me. The essay is a unique blend of memoir and Hedwig and the Angry Inch fanzine. The Hedwig show played an important part in my life as a young, queer artist coming of age in New York City in the late �90’s. This zine is the first time I’ve publicly told part of my coming out story. There’s more to tell—and one day I will. But, for now, I hope you’ll enjoy Kissing Hedwig. The zine is lovingly made, hand bound, and custom stamped. It’s made with lots of love and I can’t imagine a more perfect expression of the story it tells inside. if you’d like to buy a copy!

[image error]

If you’re on the bd email list, you already know about my new zine (if you’re not on the list, do !). I debuted this new work at the 8th Annual Rainbow Book Fair in New York City. This is the second year bd-studios.com tabled along with our sister publisher . We had a full table of artist publications and literary fiction available for purchase.

Kissing Hedwig is really special to me. The essay is a unique blend of memoir and Hedwig and the Angry Inch fanzine. The Hedwig show played an important part in my life as a young, queer artist coming of age in New York City in the late �90’s. This zine is the first time I’ve publicly told part of my coming out story. There’s more to tell—and one day I will. But, for now, I hope you’ll enjoy Kissing Hedwig. The zine is lovingly made, hand bound, and custom stamped. It’s made with lots of love and I can’t imagine a more perfect expression of the story it tells inside. if you’d like to buy a copy!

[image error]

If you’re on the bd email list, you already know about my new zine (if you’re not on the list, do !). I debuted this new work at the 8th Annual Rainbow Book Fair in New York City. This is the second year bd-studios.com tabled along with our sister publisher . We had a full table of artist publications and literary fiction available for purchase.

Kissing Hedwig is really special to me. The essay is a unique blend of memoir and Hedwig and the Angry Inch fanzine. The Hedwig show played an important part in my life as a young, queer artist coming of age in New York City in the late �90’s. This zine is the first time I’ve publicly told part of my coming out story. There’s more to tell—and one day I will. But, for now, I hope you’ll enjoy Kissing Hedwig. The zine is lovingly made, hand bound, and custom stamped. It’s made with lots of love and I can’t imagine a more perfect expression of the story it tells inside. if you’d like to buy a copy!

If you’re on the bd email list, you already know about my new zine (if you’re not on the list, do !). I debuted this new work at the 8th Annual Rainbow Book Fair in New York City. This is the second year bd-studios.com tabled along with our sister publisher . We had a full table of artist publications and literary fiction available for purchase.

Kissing Hedwig is really special to me. The essay is a unique blend of memoir and Hedwig and the Angry Inch fanzine. The Hedwig show played an important part in my life as a young, queer artist coming of age in New York City in the late �90’s. This zine is the first time I’ve publicly told part of my coming out story. There’s more to tell—and one day I will. But, for now, I hope you’ll enjoy Kissing Hedwig. The zine is lovingly made, hand bound, and custom stamped. It’s made with lots of love and I can’t imagine a more perfect expression of the story it tells inside. It’s available to —I hope you’ll pick up a copy!