Phillip Altstatt Land scapeCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW, 2014-15, 1.5” x 1.5” x 2”, plasticine, resin, epoxy clay, paper
, 2013-15, 2” x 2.5” x 3.5”, 3D print, acrylic, nylon
, 20154” x 7” x 2”, epoxy clay, enamel, acrylic, rebar wire
as small as a human head; even moredifficult to figure out how all of theemotions and energy of a human life fitinto a single body. If the universe isindeed finite, it’s too big to comprehend;the depths of imagination are at least thatbig. With my work, I task myself withsqueezing everything on my mind and onmy heart into a tiny sculpture - that’s theabstraction. The small objects take on alife of their own, a feeling that viewerscan connect with; because the work isfigurative in that way, there is an entrypoint for the viewer to unpack everythingthat went into it, for themselves.Memory moves us in so many ways. Iwant to call it a love/hate relationship thatwe have with memory, but it’s so muchmore than that. Some memories hauntus, while others warm our hearts.Memories can bury themselves so deepthat we are unable to access them, whileothers sit so close to the front of ourminds that we cannot shake them. Amoment in time can feel so familiar that itfeels like a memory, causing déjà vu. Ihave childhood memories that, in mymind, happened in two different waysthat are in conflict with one another.I forget though, too. I forget to take downflyers once they have expired. I tellmyself that I’m not going to go to thecoffee shop and order a drink in adisposable cup because I am tired ofcontributing to unnecessary waste; but,then I wake up tired and forget that I’vedecided that - until I catch myselfthrowing the disposable cup in thegarbage. I have forgotten about nearly allof things that I have lost or thrown awayin my life. The video series, andultimately SMALL, are as much aboutforgetting as they are about memory.Can I just stop to say that this questionhas changed me in a way? I don’t thinkany person has ever interpreted my workin a way that aligns so perfectly with myintentions before now. Thanks for that.It is of my opinion that creativity isimpossible without personal experience.What else would we have to draw uponwithout those experiences. Even if aperson was pushing the boundaries ofimagination, I only see those imaginativePhillip Altstatt Land scapeCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
ideas as an abstraction of that person’s lifeexperiences.The thing about constructed realities, is thatthey are strange because of the way they ridethe line between recognizable situations andthose situations that only take place in dreamsand hallucinations. So in a way, even the ideasand themes that are most removed from directexperience, are such because of theirrelationship with reality.This is an interesting comparison to make.These are all things that are being transformedby technology. The public sphere is less of aphysical space where intellectuals meet andmore or less a thing we call social media, whichhas opened the doors for a greater portion ofthe population to participate. Likewise, webbased apps, such as Instagram, put artwork infront of more people than ever before.Traditional “art in public space” is no longerlimited to public sculpture and murals; rather,artwork is being shared with the public onmultiple platforms. Philosophers have longthought of art as playing a critical role in publiceducation of social issues; although this ideamay have been mocked by post-modernartists, it is becoming more apparent that artdoes play that role in the public sphere - ifnothing else, opening a platform formeaningful discourse.Land scape Phillip AltstattCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
Phillip Altstatt Land scapeCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW, 2015, 5” x 4” x 3”, paper, plasticine, liquid paper, permanent marker
scape Phillip AltstattCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEWLand, 2015, 3.5” x 2” x 4.5”, epoxy clay, enamel
Phillip Altstatt Land scapeCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEWThe openness of the work to be read by theviewer is absolutely crucial to me. This issomething that I have had to struggle with inthe past. When you are an artist faced withcriticism over the decisions that you make, itis difficult to defend the idea of “that is up tothe viewer to decide”. However, the artworkmoves me based on my life experiences; andas similar as those experiences may be tothose of the viewer, ultimately it is their lifethat I hope to touch. If a piece brings me totears because it is tough for me to facesomething from my past, I can’t expect theaudience to shed tears over my loss; but ifthey can look into the work, search formeaning in it, and reach their ownconclusions - then I have done something formyself and for them.That being said, there is a degree ofopenness. As I have discussed already, thereare layers of thought and emotion that gointo my studio practice; so, I am not justcreating an object and asking the world tointerpret it the way that they want. I amprovided a multitude of already meaningfulideas that serve as jumping-off points fordialogue. It is this balance that strengthensthe work; whereas, 100% openness wouldjust cause the work to fall flat.
Land scape Phillip AltstattCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW, 201512” x 7” x 7”, epoxy clay, enamel
Phillip Altstatt Land scapeCONTEMPORARY ART REVIEWI am in the school of thought that believesthat the created object itself (be it painting,sculpture, digital art) is not the art, but onlybecomes art when the audience engageswith it. This particular belief might, verywell, play a larger role in my decisionmaking process than I ever realize. Come tothink of it, you may have pegged one of thereasons that my work has evolved to becross-disciplinary. The pieces that I havebeen most satisfied with, are those thatchange for the viewer as they physicallyengage with the work; objects that offer adifferent perspective based on theaudiences physical location in relation tothe thing itself.I am currently traveling internationally. Istarted to feel the limitations of beinginfluenced by only the surroundings I wasfamiliar with. Companies like Starbucks andAmazon weighed heavily on my mind; I sawa problem with the world and I was part ofit. I am now living in a remote part of China,a town so insignificant that it yields zeroresults on an internet search. Althoughthere are some cultural differences, I amfacing the same issues: the local coffeeshops have a logo that is a blatant rip-off ofStarbucks and they peddle out a seeminglylimitless supply of disposable cups, whichthey insist on putting in a bag beforehanding you your drink. When I ask locals,“How can I find this?” or “Where can I buythat?”, the answer is always the same:“Taobao.com”. The industries that wesupport are pushing our planet intohomogeny.Look, I realize that readers must think I amwhining about garbage polluting our world…and in some way, I suppose I am. But that’snot my real interest; my exploration is therepetitive nature that I face as a humanbeing. Clearly I am aware of the problem,yet I still look forward to leaving my Chineseapartment and grabbing a subparcappuccino from the fake Starbucks; I stillgo out of way to order stuff on Taobao.com(and trust me, it’s not really easy for aforeigner to do so).I expected my work to be influenced by acompletely different experience that isshared by people of individual cultures, andinject my work with those things. What I amfinding is that those “things” are exactly likeour “things”. So, my future work is amystery to even me. I would like to explorethe idea of physically separating viewersfrom the actual work; I’m not sure if thatmeans something like virtual reality, or if itis a physical barrier like a wall with a peephole, so that viewers have to work to get aglimpse of the work - it is something that Imust investigate before saying for certain.Thanks so much for the opportunity todiscuss my work in such detail. It has beena pleasure, and I am honored that someoneread my art so closely and understood it sowell.An interview by , curatorand , curator