Matt Ziemke
Constructing a Need for Redundancy
43 in. High, Ceramic and Mixed Media
2010
Stepping Down
47 in. High, Ceramic and Mixed Media
2010
Artist Statement
My work focuses on forms, structures, and processes that surround the location, extraction, and consumption of energy. I am drawn to the ways in which the landscape can ultimately be defined by this activity. These forms and structures exist purely out of a concern for economy and necessity with little consideration given to their aesthetic quality, yet they come to define portions of our built environment.
In an attempt to interpret these elements I introduce points of transition, the shifting from two to three dimensions, or the manipulation of scale and proportion. By opposing the rigidity of these structures with undulating, dripping, piled-up, or bubbling forms, I am trying to relate them to their various purposes at a basic material level. As I make and arrange my work I invite imagination and play to fill in the inherent holes in my understanding of the complex processes that inform our landscape and inspire my making. While I tend to be interested in how these structures operate within the landscape, I wonder what their presence and appearance might say about the societies within which they exist.