One Thing Constantly Changing

2013

Santa Fe Art Institute

This project focused on the global redistribution of water. Samples of melted Arctic ice, Baltimore rainwater and Santa Fe snowmelt were displayed in the gallery. The rainwater and snowmelt were filtered, bottled and could be sampled by viewers. The Arctic ice was left to evaporate over the course of the exhibition. Also included are three large digital photographs of clouds. A circular ribbon embroidered with a description of the water cycle could be picked up and read by viewers.

Drilling A Well For Water

2003

Baltimore Museum of Art


For this project I drilled a well in the BMA’s Sculpture Garden. The water from the well was deposited into the museums HVAC system were is it permanently held regulating the museums air temperature. The installation, drilling and water transportation were all live events that took place during museum hours. This was my first project investigating Water. I was very attracted how water is simultaneously entirely practical and sublime. I wanted to construct a project that dealt with both of these qualities. This project took over two years to research and plan. In making this piece I had the pleasure of immersing myself in local geology, the history of Baltimore wells and the technology of well drilling. I also had the pleasure of negotiating a project like this with the Baltimore Museum of Art. I am very grateful to their support, tolerance and patience, as it could not have been realized without them.

This Garden, Making Salt and Evaporation Drawings

2004

Santa Monica Museum of Art


For this project I collected 300 gallons of sea water and evaporated it in a tank built into the gallery space. Over the course of the exhibition 35 pounds of salt were made. The salt was given away to the public. A majority of the electricity used in the exhibition lighting was generated using a solar panel.

This is a very romantic piece. It is a sculpture that is comprised of a kiss being passed from one person to another. In theory this will continue forever. To activate the work I printed a card that has the title of the work and the instruction to pass the kiss and the card to another person.

Myfoodmypoop

2010

Contemporary Museum, Baltimore

For this project I weighed all of my food and drink and then all of my shit and urine. By rough subtraction I was able to calculate how much food my body would convert to energy each day. I did this project for 63 days. Each day I would record all of the weights, at the same time I would keep a diary of what I would do each day, people I would talk to and thoughts that I would have. The intention of this project was to investigate and connect the passage of energy contained in my food to how it would manifest in my daily experience. A sculptural result of the project were wooden blocks cut to the exact weight of food/drink, shit/urine and energy. I also made a website to archive the work.This project was installed at the Contemporary Museum in 2010

Hey Nick! Do You And Ashley Want To Come Over For Dinner

2011-2012

This was an event in which I invited two friends over for dinner solely by word of mouth. I first asked another friend to ask Nick and Ashley to come to my house for dinner, if she didn't see them, she could ask someone else to carry the message. Nick and Ashley were to reply in a similar manner. After four months and about 10 exchanges, Nick and Ashley came over for dinner. This project was intended to reinforce the unmediated social bonds in the community that I live in. This is an ongoing project.

Volume

Installed October, 2003

Project description :

Within the building of the Baltimore Museum of Art there is a constantly changing object. This object is the volumetric space of the galleries, offices, service rooms and halls that is constantly reshaped and carved by the presence of people and their movements. The sculpture created by Volume is this space. The object is built by introducing water obtained through Drilling A Well For Water into the ice making plant that is the center of the buildings air conditioning system. This ice making plant continually freezes and melts this water in a closed system that is never drained. This process is coupled with a heat exchanger that maintains the museums air temperature year round. Through this the art properties of the well water are transferred to the structure of the air that is circulated throughout the building and fills its volumetric space.
Volume was purchased by the BMA in 2004 an is part of its permanent collection.

Lets Meet Again In 2032 (unless either one of us are dead)

2012

Rockville Center for Contemporary Art


For this project I invited 40 friends to “meet again” for a potluck lunch in 2032. An invitation was sent out with time, date and location. The goal of this project was to create a social sculpture that would be defined by events yet to occur. In making this piece I was partially driven by the concern that we have a decreasing ability to envision ourselves in the future. I was also interested in investigating how I could instigate an artwork without determining its outcome.

Evaporation Drawings


This is an ongoing series of drawings I have been making for 8 years. The drawings are created as 5 gallons of water evaporate from a bucket of water. A clear hose is connected to the bucket. This hose shows the exact level of the water in the bucket. The hose is then used to trace a line across a page of paper. This is done repeatedly as the water evaporates from the bucket. As the water level goes down, the lines descend the page.

Living With A Log

1998

This project was a sculpture and performance work made by locating a 42 ft , 2 1/2 ton fallen fir tree in the forests of southern Oregon and placing it inside of my home in the nearby town of Ashland. My wife and I lived in the house with the log, going about our normal daily routine. The house was open to the public during this time.
My intention with this project was to bring the wild and the domesticated into contact again. The house I was living in was entirely constructed of wood. The wallpaper was of a floral design. The region I lived in was heavily forested and was also heavily lumbered. I realized that in many ways our houses are domesticated replica's of wild environments. With this work I wanted to live within the tension that would be created by bringing these two extremes into proximity. Like two opposing magnets.