Living in both Paris and New York, I have been lucky to experience the cultures of Europe and America with the perspective of an outsider. When I am in Paris, I see life there as an American who was born in Detroit and has lived for nearly 40 years in New York. Back in the States, I look through the lens of the last fifteen years of living more in Paris than New York.
The ten works in this project, DON’T STOP, developed out of a desire to reconcile two important differences between life in the two countries. France, the oldest country in Europe, has been ruled by kings for most of its existence. Even though it became a republic after the French Revolution, its culture is steeped in its royal origins. Life in France is marked by class, highly developed codes of behavior, easy sensuality, significant state art patronage, refined taste, and strong federal government.
In contrast Americans regard class difference with skepticism if not denial, and privilege as nothing more than a lucky break. In the US we feel we can become anybody we want unhindered by our family’s past, our race or personal history or gender. State support of the arts is deemed a luxury we can’t afford. And finally, government in America is a constant battle between State and Federal positions.
I tried to mash up these differences in DON’T STOP. With Detroit now in ruins, I hope also to remind viewers of a time not so long ago when that integrated metropolis produced most of the greatest Disco hits. Ten glossy pictures set democratic American pleasure-taking—Disco!—against princely French refinement.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Works vary in size from 76cm x 76cm to 152cm x 102cm, and are comprised of one to six separate square panels. All works are Archival Pigment Ink Prints. The prints are face-mounted to glossy Plexiglass and backed by dibond.
http://www.celesteprize.com/portfolios/idu:74610/
