Payson McNett
Two Time Art Party Participant
Big Board
Artist’s Website
www.paysonmcnett.com
Artist’s Statement
One of my primary motivations as an artist is the act of making. I am enamored with process, technique, and the tools that enable them. I see the potential in all materials: new or used, precious or discarded. My perception of value in a material comes from the potential it has to be made into something.
I find myself in a constant critique of the human need to process the natural world and extract from it the raw materials that make up modern society. How is a manmade structure different from an animal structure? Is the manmade world unnatural? Does the engine of human progress differ from any other type growth? Is our need to build unique to humans, or a law of nature? Is it within our power as a species to stop making?
Questions motivate me and the pursuit of answers is my passion. The objects I create are meant as a platform in which questions reside. Presenting them to the public allows a forum in which participants can create a dialog and gain perspective. My work is a dynamic visual representation of a question and will affect each individual differently. The integrity of the question is important, and I strive to create an object that is not making proclamations. I attempt to utilize a visual vocabulary that directs my viewer, but understand that they see the world from their own perspective. I create objects that allow the viewer it to internalize the narrative posed by that piece, and share with others what they see. My objective is to allow relativity room to exist, and acknowledge that one perspective is not more valid than another; regardless of how different they may be.
At the core of my creative process is the need to create an object that people can have a physical, emotional and or cognitive interaction with. I’m inspired by seeing others express themselves through something that I made. Interaction ranges from dialog to expression through movement. I am satisfied with a piece when it is a catalyst rather than a focal point.
Feedback from those who experience my work becomes essential for new concepts. The process of showing work propels me into new avenues of exploration, with new questions, allowing a continual state of discovery and excitement in the studio. I am forever in debt to those who view my work and share their experience with me.