ARTIST STATMENT

Any time strangers find themselves alone together, there is a certain degree of awkwardness. It has always seemed to me that this tension is significantly amplified inside of an elevator. I suspect that it is the forced interaction between people upon entering this oftentimes small, rickety, windowless, smelly and confined space. People often feel like they need to make small talk in an attempt to diffuse the uneasiness. Even if those involved choose to ignore each other, they are still interacting on some small level.

Let us suppose that you enter an elevator at the same time as someone you have never met. You have no choice or control in the matter. You immediately begin thinking about the other person, perhaps sizing them up out of the corner of your eye. You make a subconscious judgment on the other person’s looks, clothes, demeanor and personality. You know the other person is thinking similar thoughts about you. You both stand there, sometimes fidgeting, waiting anxiously to reach one of the chosen floors so that one of you might exit and alleviate the uncomfortable situation. You are both hoping not to get stuck in between floors because that would mean you are trapped for an undetermined amount of time in this self-conscious limbo with each other.

I am drawing inspiration from several real-life personal experiences I have witnessed inside of elevators, as well as fictional ideas that have formed inside my brain and the brains of my audience. This ever-expanding series will contain people in ironic, humorous, opposing and awkward scenarios inside different elevators. I find entertainment in the psychological effects that result from clashing opposing forces together. I want the people who see my paintings to have a little laugh. However, I also want them to consider the way different personalities interact with each other and why. Maybe these paintings can even challenge a few stereotypes or encourage people to place themselves into the shoes of others whom they might never give a second thought otherwise.