Past Exhibitions

• Upcoming |
  • TBA
  
  
• Current |
• Past |
  • Andrew Kent
  • Renee Gouin
  • Christel Herzog
  • Lyse Lemieux
  • Jeremy Stanbridge
  • Jonah Samson
  • Devitt Brown
  • Charles Thackray
  • Kevin Dubois
  • Marv Newland
  • Mike Andrew McLean
  • Glenn Lewis
  • Chris Kowal
  • Angus Ferguson
  • Rayburn Marasigan

 

 

Devitt Brown: Primary Scenario

November - December 2009

 

Click here to visit his flickr gallery

 

 

 

Apparently, in these words I am supposed to tell you what my work “means” and give you a window into the creative process behind my work. I could probably write page after page of drivel composed of clichés and hackneyed “ideals” not caring for a second about composition, grammar or whether I use words correctly or words that even exist for that matter.

 I can attempt to write the self doubt, scathing criticism and occasional dick and fart joke that go through my mind when I’m working or I could spew out a whole bunch of bullshit about underlying meanings, subtext, allegorical representation and if I mix it up just right you won’t be able to tell whether I’m deep or just fucking with you.

 In reality there’s no way I can tell you what my art “means.” Not only is it impossible but also it’s vainglorious to do so. Who am I to tell you what something means? Sure, I created it but it’s up to you to find meaning. And if you do, could you let me know? Because I think that sure would make writing these things slightly easier.

 A problem I could see coming out of it is influence. If I tell you that there’s so and so underlying the “meaning” to my work, even if it has no basis in truth you could manage to find it. I would be affecting how you view this work and instead of taking from it what you will, I would be telling you what to think.

 There are more important things to consider than why I create what I create. Reason is frivolous. I’d rather you think about the fact the space between you and this piece of paper is completely dark. Your eyes are interpreting photons bouncing off this paper. Between you and the paper, it’s just darkness.

 Sound is similar. If I were to read these words to you, my mouth would move, and you would hear words, but between my mouth and your ear, it’s just waves. Your ear turns those waves into sounds. But the sound itself? It only exists in our head.
 

To me, these seem like far more important things to ponder than why I create what I do. I create because it’s something I do, and if I don’t do it I get bummed. But there’s no hidden, hermetic wisdom behind my work. It’s just images I find interesting and attempt to reproduce.

 I find being asked what my art means no different than asking a painter who paints landscapes what his work means. It’s a fucking landscape. If you want to find meaning in it—if you want to think it’s social commentary on the move from agrarian to industrial economy so be it. It doesn’t necessarily make it so. This is what I do. Is there meaning to it? Yes… but it just has meaning to me. Find in it whatever you want.