Artist Statement September 2010.

Jason Lee Starin

Artist Statement September 2010.



In my current work, an accepted loss of control is seen through expressive form, imposing the question of value in function, as well as, works which represent the artist as organizer of material and other peoples acts.

The expressive biomorphic ceramic forms are the petrified refuse of the craftsman’s hand. They are presence recorded. By working quickly and solidly, nullifying ceramics technical tradition, if there is such a thing still, the works represent the pure sub-conscience creative and labor acts. They are purges which serve as momentum and catalyst to my practice. In their creation, I have reached a wonderful raw space which serves as a source of awareness in my continued practice.

These sculptures as recorded acts were the first to get me out of myself. With consideration that all ceramic work is essentially a container, by technical default conditional to the firing process, I wanted to project onto the viewer a sense of this loss of control. By challenging the functional aspect of the hole of a container, the viewer / user no longer has any sense of control tog the object though perceived ownership. By combining the man-made familiar forms of angles with the lumpy happenstance forms that is clay unto it’s own, these containers at first appear understandable, possibly welcoming. Seeing the hole which defines the object as functional, yet contrasted by its undefined relation to the specific shape of the form, challenges the idea of purpose of the object, whether that object be one of design or sculpture.

Moving beyond the importance of the object, I find my self more concerned with loss of control by allowing outside limitations into my work and practice. The wooden collages are composed refuse of what other craft-persons consider dispensable. The forms of the individual blocks are my choice in placement alone, not in form. I see these works as a collaborative effort in a sense. As each end-cut, when re-formated in a new way, now serves as symbol of identity to the person who previously disavowed it’s importance. This work has established an approach to my practice I have not previously considered. I see this work as a process of understanding the value of others peoples acts, intentional or not, but still working cohesively. By working together, a collaborative piece can have a more meaningful effect on a community than my singular interpretation of it.