Standing under I Wrote Some Poems That You Could See (2018) after it was installed at the Philadelphia International Airport in Terminal A-East recently. Feeling incredibly blessed and humbled by the fact that over the next year, this work will be able to be experienced by potentially hundreds of thousands of people traveling through PHL. It also means a lot that this is the first public viewing of a new body of work that’s entirely different than what I’ve shown up until now. The genesis of this work goes back to the late 80s, when I was thinking about language and painting; I wasn’t into the idea of people “reading” the paintings, so I made up my own ‘alphabet’ of a sort. It didn’t last long, as I was in a period of rapid discovery and moved on to other ideas. Whenever I talk to art students, I always mention the non-linear nature of creativity and artistic development. Unlike how it’s usually presented in art history courses and books, after some time in their practice, a lot of artists begin to reflect on and have dialogues with older ideas that were once thought finished. This is where I stand in my practice. Looking back and selectively bringing old ideas forward sometimes helps me with getting out of creative blocks and can propel me onto a new trajectory. Many thanks to Leah Douglas, Director of Exhibitions for this opportunity and I’m very happy to be showing with so many great Philly artists! (Photo: @phlairportart)
