ARTIST STATEMENT

I begin with the question: From who, where, and what have we learned that is most beneficial in our lives? Having attended American public schools in a time that saw the use of the chalkboard and the beginnings of its gradual transition out of the classroom, I contemplate the temporal interchangeability of the chalkboard and educational environments. I remove the chalkboard from the classroom and place tragic historical figures onto its surface. These self-destructive figures, juxtaposed with biographical and anecdotal text, create an iconic, didactic stage for the viewer to contemplate education and mortality.