Painted on pages from the 1920’s children's encyclopedia, the Book of Knowledge, these pieces challenge the onslaught of AI and the idea that all systems must be optimized to meet a user friendly or user experience metric. I explore the watercolor medium on vintage pages of text, building layers of texture and detail and intensity of color as I go. I love language, hence I use the text as a foundational surface aspect. The subjects all evoke a low-tech ease and ‘user friendly’-ness. Our lives, after all, are the original "user experience". I challenge the meaning of those tech phrases, and in so doing, serve to remind viewers of the inherent friendliness of a playground swing, or the hawk’s ‘user experience’ as it perches on a thin fence rail, talons gripped and patiently awaiting its prey. The lovely user experience of wearing the classic French parfum, Chanel No. 5, surrounded by the text from the Declaration of Independence—that which the French helped the US to achieve, long before they gifted us parfum. I used that important document on the 70's swing as well, as it provides a critical guide to our user experience within our Democracy—one we must protect and revisit to keep it alive. The “Glass Half Full”, the rather iconic Rayban and the “Friendly Brush” which delivers the friendliest, and by my standards, perfect of all user experiences. I love capturing ‘everyday objets’-- the small yet important things that create meaning in our world. Painting them allows me to reflect on their importance and pay homage to their presence.
