buried

Buried (2017) was inspired by Patsy Cline’s showcase album from MCA Records. I’ve always had old cars with cd players and have a habit of collecting cds and cassettes of my favorite musicians. In high school, I became obsessed with outlaw country artists like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and David Allen Coe. This led me to dive deeper into female country artists who predated outlaw musicians like Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. There was something about Patsy that stuck with me. Her voice wasn’t similar to any other I’d heard. Watching old clips of her singing live on television shows I noticed how uncomfortable she seemed — like she didn’t want to sing in front of others, but had to for survival. I dreamt of a world where I could make art that never had to be seen. Though I reconcile that the relationship between the artist and viewer is an unending necessity.

It was the red-on-red-on-red of the album cover that inspired Buried. In the beginning, the inspiration was surface-level. I wanted to see how far I could push an artwork made entirely of red objects. In the process of creating the sculpture, it developed into an environment. Draped red basketball short mesh lined my studio walls over eight yards washing up on the floor in a puddle around a centered gravestone - a piece of plywood gently painted red. The experience of making this piece was meditative. The work became something to honor Patsy and how her music continued to heal me. I decided to not allow viewers to enter the piece, transforming it from an installation into a closed environment. In fact, I disassembled the artwork in it’s entirety before a critique consisting of several of my graduate advisors. The artwork had become too close to my heart to listen to nomadic professors give their opinion after spending two minutes in her presence.

Patsy, this album, and the cover art continue to influence my art and love for the color red — which just happens to the be the natural color of my hair.