James Leonard: Conscience

Brooklyn artist, James Leonard, continues my recent project by writing about "conscience." As usual, I extend an invitation to all local artists who would like to participate in this effort. Just email me!

Hutch
2003

James Leonard: Conscience

I can see how a viewer might quickly assume that the reworked bits of Americana in my art attempt to serve as some sort of conscience for the nation. Scratch n’ Sniff and The Warbonds Project provide perfect cues for this read. But I’ve never been comfortable producing strictly political or didactic works. I abhor the connotations of moral authority found in an overzealous social “conscience.” But if you dig deeper into that word, conscience, there are other connotations: a sense of right and wrong; a sense of precision regarding the way things ought to be; a set of principals that both direct and limit an individual’s choice of actions.

Those latter, deeper notions of conscience begin to sound familiar. They begin to sound like my studio practice, which is long, careful, researched, and labored. I am a sculptor and installation artist. I do not work serially. Each titled object and environment is highly varied from the last. But like a high wire artist constantly rehearsing her act between shows, I produce numerous studies for each and every piece, despite how casual the work may seem.

I go to great lengths with my processes to make sure that materials and objects are right. Take for example Hutch, shown here. The cotton clothesline in this work was stretched for nearly a year, just to ensure that all the kinks were removed. My obsessions are reinforced by a sense of (at least partial) responsibility I have over what meanings my works might generate. But this is not a wholly intellectual, semiotic process. In fact, I deplore the closed nature of semiotics. My world is more intuitive, more sensual, more organic. Dumb things can blossom amazing if germinated properly. To this end, my studio practice is deeply informed by an aesthetic conscience, a considered sense of what each work might do to a viewer, a sense of what it in turn might mean to them, a sense of responsibility should I put their eye out.

Hutch (detail)
2003

Previous Posts:

Charles Neenan: Tradition
Kelly Towles: Color
Ryan Mulligan: Originality
Matt Hollis: Confinement
Dean Fueroghne: Originality
James W. Bailey: Obligation
J. Coleman: Depiction
Andy Moon Wilson: Decision
Molly Springfield: Language
Bryan Whitson: Scene
Elyse Harrison: Motivation
Jiha Moon Wilson: Influence
Alexandra Silverthorne: Derivative
Jose Ruiz: Contemporary
Kathleen Shafer: Focus
Jennifer McMackon: Connection
Gregg Chadwick: Responsibility
Warren Craghead: Material
Angela Kleis: Purpose
Peter Reginato: Order
Anna L. Conti: Community
Wayne Schoenfeld: Content
Elizabeth Morisette: Naive
Tim Tate: Craft
Jesse Cohen: Hidden
Greg Ferrand: Experience
Joseph Barbaccia: Commitment
Jamie Wimberly: Burden
Christine Tillman: Discovery
Candy Keegan: Personality
Allison B. Miner: Introspection
Jennifer Miller: Fresh
Rosetta DeBerardinis: Fluid
Marsha Stein: Pride
Tara Krause: Primal
Andrew Krieger: Imagination
Trish Tillman: Technology

Comments

[Upshifter Mouse Racer]

"Dumb things can blossom amazing if germinated properly." I think that line sums it up quite nicely. Don't misunderstand though, I am not tearing the art down. In fact, I think that it is really inspired.

If I was just your average Joe Shmo walking into a room and I saw that, I don't think I'd just walk right past it. It's eye-catching, if for no other reason than to stop and ask yourself: why is this here?

It creates a lot of good visual tension between the rope and the bucket. I don't think I'd have the patience to pull it off like this. Even the photography is appealing to me. I applaud you.