Joe Dal Pra Installation Project at Living Arts Tulsa
Title: hold-collapse-confine
Materials: wood, steel, plaster and urethane plastic.
Size: variable dimensions
Artist's statement :
The goal of my work is to explore ideas and from them develop something that can entertain and create a dialog with the viewer. I am exploring structures that build, collapse and confine along with figures and fighter plane silhouettes with surfaces that range from reflective to deteriorating. Abrupt grotesques drop into this environment as well.
More Info:
In my work I am currently using imagery from fighter planes and figures. In one exploration, the imagery of fragmented pieces of technology is held by truss like structures. It is trying to piece something back together that has come apart with a method that is slow and divided. Technology appears in another set of pieces as distorted silhouettes of aircraft moving through the sky. The planes, seen from a distance, moving and turning, dark against a bright sky, become images of known to unknown forms. The reflective shiny surface makes them attract as well hides them by reflecting the environment around them. The silhouettes are braced up in to the air by frail pine wood structures. Other plane parts are left folded on the ground, paint applied, eroded, applied again and eroded to reveal and release stress of the image.
Silhouettes are used again as figures. Metal rods hold them up. Simple structures hold small reflective badge sized silhouettes. Larger silhouettes are held up like road signs. The surfaces of the larger figures are worn and held by rusting structures. The building up, strain and release of the materials are shown. Our image is reflected on the surface of the smaller silhouettes. Other silhouetted figures are attached to structures that are coming apart, falling down. There is information in the figures that makes them identifiable, but also, incompleteness. Other carnival, grotesque type heads, figures, body parts are also present. They disrupted the continuity of the silhouettes and structures to redirect, compound and confront the situation.
Joe Dal Pra
sdalpra@aol.com
installation/video and documents on web:
http://local-artists.org/users/joe-dal-pra
http://www.youtube.com/user/joedalpra
above: planes (braced) Silhouettes of aircraft moving through the sky, becoming more unrecognizable at times reflecting the view of something seen moving and in the glare of the sun. These clean shining images are braced up by frail wooden structures.
above: hold Parts of a whole metal structure, broken, being brought together by structures trying to hold them in place, failing. Developed as listening to news of the oil well repair work.
above: cut forms Another group of metal parts of a cut up whole being propped up on wooden structures.
above: silhouettes of protest figures being propped up with metal and wood adhoc structures.
above: figure cluster semi reflective (blurry) figures being propped up, exploding out.
above: pull riot figures pulling apart structure.
above: planes (folded) bent metal parts with worn, deteriorating yet shiny surface.
Above: people silhouettes of figures standing about some thing that is happening. worn surfaces, time pacing.
above: I.D. badge sized semi reflective images of people.
above: more people stuck.
above: riot girl and boy
above: the circus Aberrations to amuse and distract.
