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Fear of Getting Stupid, 2007

Shown at Delgado Community College, Covington, LA

The five drawings in the "Fear of Getting Stupid" series address personal (and admittedly irrational) anxieties that one "gets" stupid the same as one "gets" a disease. My fear is that the causes of torpidity are so ubiquitous - with all of us experiencing overwhelming distractions, overbearing schedules, the increased likelihood of making stupid mistakes in new situations and of becoming jaded towards the hyper-driven twenty-first century - that we may permanently diminish our ability to concentrate. Therefore, I use the iconography of idocy playfully, hoping the viewer will re-examine the clichés of dumbness, such as "dumb as a doorknob," with the same freshness that it is increasingly hard for any of us to maintain. Likewise, I temper more sinister imagery, such as wafting cigarette smoke, opened cranial cavities, and a disappearing portrait, with humorous details (such as Dodo birds and a Swiss-cheese brain) to highlight the irrationality of the fear of getting stupid. In revitalizing these clichés with active collage-like compositions, play with space, and renewed contexts for the imagery, I try to prove that my anxiety and fear can be overcome.

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Feeling that is was most appropriate to keep my medium simple, I used graphite and paper. The Materials' limitations act as boundaries to aid the viewer's focus while also suggesting a timeworn nature. This simplicity works hand-in-hand with the largeness of the drawings - and subsequently the fear. With scale, familiar imagery, and the limitless appeal of drawing, I attempt to communicate (and commiserate) with the viewer on a basic and understandable level. (Dumb as a Doorknob, Bag of Hammers, Fish, Box of Rocks, Stick)

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