pmartin@emporia.edu

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The evolution of my work is developing along two major lines. The first is based upon the concept that objects with an independent existence wholly apart from aesthetic concerns can be transformed into sculpture without robbing them of their historical significance by attempting to negate the original purpose of their existence.  My motivation is to alter and thereby immortalize the object, creating something that can address current ideas or comment on contemporary society. By transforming mundane objects into sculpture, the objects are given a different identity in time and space.           

The second area of concentration investigates a narrative approach to sculpture. This involvement with narrative content has been inherent in my work since I began making sculpture in 1987. Themes that dominate the work are based upon current sociopolitical issues. My sculpture has focused on making a successful transformation of narrative ideas into visual forms, in which neither one dominates the other. There is a great deal of ambiguity in the narrative, as though it might be told through associative leaps instead of a linear story line. This provides the viewer with a greater opportunity to bring in their own references, creating an aggregate narrative that is greater than the sum of its parts. I provide a matrix of forms and images within whose boundaries the viewer participates.