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Statement:
It
is the unique ability as living sentient organisms on our planet to
be able to create and make tools to manipulate our world and produce
objects which largely separates us from all other living things.
The creation of objects, our interaction and associations with
them are intrinsic to our existence. To ignore the impulse to
create and own objects in their many forms is to deny ourselves the
very nature of what it is to be homo sapiens. The things we create
are the extensions ourselves, often for better, sometimes for
worse. The objects I create are intended to provoke the
appreciation and fascination of the object as an end in on to
itself, as well convey the message it was created for. Good design
and art should be inseparable and conjoined. My recent toy designs
and the “Ready Trees” from the “Ready
Forest”
Project clearly tap into the language of contemporary culture and
its popular iconography as their primary dialect. My objects can be
enjoyed on a purely visceral level, and further examinations from
the viewer will result in a reading of their messages. We should be
able to embrace our ability and appreciation of objects and object
making. At the same time, we as living, consuming entities are participants in
a much larger cooperative, which includes our natural world, and
should be accountable for our actions in a responsible manner.
Being at the "top of the food chain", it
is our duty to be the caretakers of our planet. All living things
take from their environment, but participating in a cooperative
requires giving back as well. |
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Bio:
Patrick York Ma was born in Brussels, Belgium and at
the age of 4, moved to the United States. He received his BA in ART
at University of California, Santa Cruz, and his MFA in 3D ARTS at
San Jose State University. Currently residing in the California
Bay Area, Patrick works in his studio on a variety of creative
projects, from illustrations, sculpture, digital photography,
furniture, apparel, and
product design.
A portion of Patrick's
sculpture
was created with an emphasis in metals and glass casting. Some of
the works presented in his website www.rocketworld.org are ongoing
investigations into science fiction as a form of contemporary
popular mythology combined with sculptural objects created as
"artefacts" found within that context.
Currently Patrick is working on an installation
project using stylized pop-flavored motifs from the natural world to
prompt viewers' reactions on various levels. His "Ready Tree"
project is commentary of how humans might feel a subconscious sense
of peace by having simply the icons of our natural landscape, even
in our periphery , within view, triggering some kind of ancestral
evolutionary memory of a time when we were perhaps more integrated
with our landscape.
A number of Patrick's
photographs
use motifs and icons from "pulp science fiction" media, and portray
contextual vignettes which tell a story or a captured scenario.
Some of the other photographs presented are simply snapshots from
various travels and/or subject matter the artist found interesting.
Many of the images and “artefacts” displayed on
Rocket World, were created as commentary on the human dynamic
regarding exploration, pursuit of the unknown, and the objects we
create, which become cultural-techno sign posts. These works are
created ultimately to provoke a better understanding of ourselves as
one people who are homogenous in many ways, by demonstrating how
advantageous technology and the motivation to explore, crosses any
cultural , national, and perceived "ethnic" borders.
Patrick's interests and explorations of the studio
arts and design are also colored by his awareness of our intrinsic
participation in the natural, "Darwinian" world. The characters of
his designer toy line, the "Insurgents
Wilderness Gruppo", were created as irreverent commentary
of how our zoological heritage & natural world are being decimated
and squandered by amoral, exploitive and near sighted individuals
and corporations. Part of the proceeds from the sales made from his
designer toys are donated to a variety of non-profit groups and
organizations such as the
Gorilla Foundation,
the
International
Rhino Foundation,
Eco-Americas,
and the
World Wildlife
Fund.
A frequent traveler, Patrick spends time
every year in the field involved with wildlife groups doing
conservation work or exploring archaeological sites thru out the
world. |
