My life, until 2009, consisted of a series of preparations for the next stage of my journey in Design. Building, boredom, and clay creations all fueled my passions.
Early on, my Father was a significant influence on my interest in art. He would ensure that car rides were monotonous, but for a pad of paper and pen. My lines were simple and indelible and I was forced to be exacting.
The next defining moment occurred at the age of 12. I constructed 1/10th scale remote control cars at camp and then, at home. I enjoyed the building process more than the consumption; it taught me technical precision as well as patience. This patience was also an inherent characteristic of my claymation movie production and clay figurines the same year.
This interest in clay sculpture was prompted at my elementary school’s Harvest Festival. After seeing older students’ clay figurines for sale, I created several of my own: mini hamburgers, hot dogs, and boxed pizzas. The following Festival, I was selling clay creations myself, hopefully inspiring other children…though my Father was my biggest client.
My Dad is an architect and his endless, shelved samples exposed me to materials and an enlightened tactile sensibility. I began creating more technically advanced and textured objects.
The Dwight School’s ninth and tenth grades were spent under the influence of teachers who prompted me to excel as an artist. Until the eleventh grade, my fiery passion was a mere flicker, thereafter, it was set ablaze. The Theory of Knowledge class helped me synthesize the world and appreciate my surroundings. Design Technology, another class, exposed me to material resourcefulness.
Finally, frequent exposure to Phillipe Starck’s Gramercy Starck building solidified my interest in Design. The interior transcends reality, its tranquility defying the chaos of New York. Color coordinated, stark, organic shapes replay and interact in a modern rendition of lavish royal life style. Modernized historical references to deer heads, Oriental pottery, Renaissance painting, and a Chesterfield sofa recreate the tranquility of the antiquities with organic shapes which are instinctively satisfying. I reinterpreted these through warped scale projects (Mega Watch and Menorah) and then organic shapes (POD-ograph Phonograph). Later, I moved into large topographical pieces and dissolved the contrast between indoors and outdoors: (Crystal table, Organic Table 1, Seaweed Sculpture, and Coral Towers 1 and 2).
Our appreciation of Nature’s organic forms is a function of our evolution. We have adapted to our organic surroundings, synthesizing the elements instinctively, without undue questioning….which leads back to the question: “how (has) this interest (in art) manifested itself in your daily life?” There is great symmetry between my organic and design sensibilities. I live my life accordingly, dreaming of design and execution, conserving our environment (Environmental Club), and seeking inspiration from both Nature and technology (designboom.com, design-milk.com, notcot.org, ted.com, etc.). This parallels the core principles of my current design philosophy: the congruence between organic and techo-urban sensibilities. It is this I aim to promote in our society.
