Artist Statement
In October of 1977, I won grand prize in the pumpkin-carving contest in my hometown of Elko, Nevada. To be honest, it was a crap job — a naive space alien sporting coat-hanger antennae topped with Styrofoam balls.
The show-stopping detail, however, was a remote-control tape player hidden inside the pulpy cavity. Every time a judge walked by, I made the pumpkin speak:
“You there. Yes, you! I am the greatest pumpkin of all time.”
It was a seminal moment in my artistic development, although half a lifetime would pass before I formalized a practice. Assemblage. Pencil and paint. Myth.
My work has been described as "a sprinkle of sunshine on the wasteland of human existence.” A worthy pursuit, indeed.
