I suppose that after I had blacked out almost half of the visual frame in “Reading,” it was only a matter of time until I stopped drawing portions of the visual frame altogether.  This was the idea from which the “Figurines” series grew.  For me this series had really always been about negative space.

The goal that seemed to hold my attention at the time was finding a way to mimic or metaphorically represent the subjects’ visual experiences in the overall pictorial representation.  This driving principle was very obscure and rarely comes across very explicitly in the finished drawings; nevertheless, thinking in this way seemed to create tensions in the mood of the resulting work.  What is going on? Is there a story? What is it we are NOT seeing that might explain? What is the guy behind the grate touching? Why does the secretary seem so annoyed as she looks to her right while on that headset? How is that cocktail waitress staying balanced with her attention so seemingly divided?  Why does the camera guy seem so strapped in and determined?  How is that a person’s visual focus can become so narrowed to a tiny circular mirror?  These are just a few of the potential unresolved questions.

None of these compositions seemed entirely adequate as a subjects in themselves.  I had always wanted these pieces to function in aggregate.  Hence, the name: Figurines. I meant for the term to indicate a certain diminutive quality.  It also had the connotation of a porcelain like fragility.  I sort of imagined these five subjects in a little glass display case, a little collection.