River Rocks (2008): Installation in the Llano River, Junction, Texas Recently I have been installing encaustic-coated objects onto which I have transferred digitally manipulated photographs of human eyes into a variety of contexts and environments so that I can explore the psychological effects the human eye has on the viewer and analyze its diverse metaphoric and symbolic implications. For the River Rocks series I photographed the eyes of many people, then manipulated the photographic images digitally so that they resembled engraved illustrations. I then placed them onto rocks I had taken from the Llano River in the Texas Hill Country using a Xerox transfer process. I returned the rocks to their source of origin, placing them in the water so that the eyes seemed to stare up through the rushing water. The resulting experience was intriguing. Viewers were surprised by the unexpected appearance of eyes looking back at them through the water in a remote and natural environment. They reported reactions that ranged from a sense of delight and wonderment to foreboding feelings of paranoia. For some the experience evoked the spiritual or the occult, while others felt themselves becoming the guilty recipients of accusatory stares from the earth. I left the rocks to remain in the river for as long as the images were to last. Eventually the beeswax, resin, and carbon will erode away and the rocks will return to their original state. Meanwhile, I will continue to explore the ways we interpret the graphic use of the human eye in other equally unexpected contexts.

Installation in the Atrium Gallery, McAllen, Texas

The eye images on the rocks are made from original photographs of human eyes which I manipulated digitally, in order to resemble an engraved image such as those seen in 19th century medical books and commercial illustrations. I coated the rocks with encaustic, an ancient painting medium made of beeswax and damar resin. The encaustic serves as a ground to receive a transferred carbon copy of the image. I enjoy the idea of combining ancient and contemporary technologies in the creation of these image/objects. I have placed these eye/rocks throughout the Atrium, a building which, with its rough concrete walls and columns, is very rock-like in its own right. The Atrium’s Neo-Brutalist design suggests both ancient and modern building methods. The bold cylindrical columns recall the practical, yet unrefined use of concrete in so many of the great architectural structures of ancient Rome. When combined with the reflective elegance of the dark plate glass, the building has a sharp contrasts and an austere beauty that serves as a backdrop for the eye/rocks. I find that the rocks integrate into this space in a way that allows the viewer to experience them in a moment of subtle surprise. Although their drab color allows them to blend with the Atrium’s concrete walls, the boldness of the oversized human eyes has a slightly startling effect. This allows the Atrium to in a way look back at the viewer and give pause for consideration of all the metaphoric and symbolic things the human eye has come to mean to us. I intend for viewers to look back at the building that follows them with its “eyes”, and spend a moment contemplating the mysterious power that human eye has over us in art, literature, mythology, psychology, and our daily human interactions.