Artist Statement

My recent artwork is an exploration of the omnipresence of mass media and the roles we unconsciously take on as a result of it. For me, television is the cipher that deconstructs the American myth--that we are all unique individuals blazing our own trails through uncharted territory. The reality is that we have been conditioned to pursue goals implanted in our minds through years of bombardment by advertisements, testimonials and imagery of carefully constructed icons of pop-culture. I am interested in raising the level of social consciousness so that we may all be aware of the depth of mass media's intrusion on our development, behavior and outlook.

My fascination with this issue stems from nearly a decade as an active participant in television production, specifically broadcast news and entertainment. After years of training to determine what kind of imagery to include and leave out to produce a desired effect, I came to realize that we were not merely telling the viewers about the world as we see it, but were, in fact, presenting a predigested reality through our own biased vision.

Photography is my weapon of choice for expressing these views. Many people hold certain preconceived notions about photography that no other medium enjoys. The belief that somehow the camera never lies, and that photography faithfully records an actual event, gives the photographer ample room to express himself by exploiting these loaded notions.

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