Todd Volz
-- Artist Statement
My art is the point at which my creative mind is able to interact with that of my viewer. In much the same way a fictional writer uses words to conjure visual imagery; I use imagery and form to provide the viewer the opportunity to create a narrative. In my recent work the form and imagery I am using are inspired by things of a mechanical nature. I am intrigued by the wide scope of reactions machines are capable of evoking. Machines can be everything from the emblem of efficiency, progress, and the genius of humankind to the object of fear and skepticism. Though the works do not reference any specific time period, they are intended to appear old, as if they are artifacts from our history. This apparent age and patina of the devices is representative of a nostalgic perspective of the machine unique to the post-industrial age. In some ways I am also drawing comparisons between the creative process involved in making sculpture and, what I envision to be, the creative process of the nineteenth century inventor as embodied in the folkloristic imagery of a Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla.
The sculptures within this body of work are primarily ceramic with additions of wood, metal, fabric and found objects assembled to give the impression that they are functioning mechanical devices. While I enjoy working with a wide variety of materials, clay remains at the heart of my working process. The ceramic portions of my work are created using a combination of wheel throwing, hand building, and press molding. I am drawn to the formal significance of repetition and clay lends itself well to the production of multiples, knowledge I have gained through coming to clay from an interest in pottery production. My recent explorations have made use of this aspect of clay as a means towards working in an installation format while attempting to convey the same mechanical aesthetic experience. My working process is continuously perpetuated by the dialogue between the pursuit of technical skill and the development of conceptual meaning and purpose.