Blake's Response

As we all know, we develop complex relationships with those we live with over any extended period of time. This piece attempts to make visible in the physical world the nature of the mire that is my friendship with the people I live with. There is a palpable tension between the three of us, a tension explored and most likely exacerbated by the making of this work. On the surface things seem functional, but there are subtle signs of the little wars being waged in the house. My butter is thrown to the back of the refrigerator in exchange for hers, aggressive notes are left to be found, certain dishes are left unwashed. Doors are shut and greetings curdle on the lips. No I don't want pizza. No I don't want to watch a movie. You owe me seven dollars and ninety eight cents for the bills this month.

When working on this print, I knew it would be a departure from what I had been doing in both subject matter and presentation. Perhaps it is because I have been working in a more representational way and felt the need to break myself of my patterns in subject and working patterns that I turned to abstraction. I felt very strongly when making it that a representation of a mental space with physical objects would not do for this work. The physical breaks into the work in the form of my roommates bodies. I asked them to pose with little to no direction, letting them be themselves. They, and perhaps at the time I, had no idea what I was going to do with the photos I took. There is a definite push and pull between what my roommates imagined their natural states to be and what I did with them.

Jacques is right in that there is a definite push between serenity and aggression in the work. In the physical world there are signs of serenity, but even there degradation and erosion have taken place. It shows the slow leakage of discontent into the physical space around them. However, it is only when we move to the more metaphysical space of the work that the aggression and darkness really asserts itself.

I also want to note my absence in the work, and what I am beginning to think will be the title. Antagonism in Three Parts is what I believe will be the title of the work. But why three parts, three participants, but only two figures? As the creator of the piece I implicate myself as participant. I exist in the work as the hand that made it. This leads me to one of the unanswered questions I myself have about the work. Where does the viewer stand? Normally this is not something I would take too much into consideration, but since I am considering myself as part of the work having made it, then it may be important to also consider the role of the viewer. Maybe Claws has some thoughts for me on that one.