2331 St. Claude Ave and Spain, New Orleans, LA 70113 • 504-525-2767 (6246) • Mon-Sat 10am-5pm • Directions
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2331 St. Claude Ave and Spain, New Orleans, LA 70113 • 504-525-2767 (6246) • Mon-Sat 10am-5pm • Directions |
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| Artist's Statement Reality (noun): The world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them. We live in an age of wonder and paradox. So much of society in the United States is based on belief-based reality rather than rational fact; there are competing realities being built and sold every day. In one day, I had three competing realities asking me to believe in them - Anna Nicole Smith's Dexatrim fantasy life, asking me to “Enter her reality...”, Dick Cheney telling me “What the reality was...”, and a radio evangelist coming to me through “The Reality of Jesus Christ.” That particular week, reality had become commodity and/or fantasy, or perhaps it still is. In fact, there are other realities that were being sold to me online. Several years ago, a cold grilled cheese sandwich revealing a blotch, apparently in the form of the Virgin Mary, was sold on the auction site Ebay.com for several thousand dollars. The ambiguity of that image was something that I could just not accept, but I understood the reality of its response. Given my misgivings, I sought for something I could believe in... Reality Principle (noun): The ego’s control of the pleasure-seeking activity of the id in order to meet the demands of the external world. Verisimilitude (noun): The appearance of being true or real. For the past five years, I have been seeking answers to my own questions of ambiguity and truth in order to resolve myself with today's definitions of reality. These engravings into real slices of Wonder Bread are real images toasted at an unambiguous 600 dots per inch. Looking upon these, I can tell you that's no blotch – that's JFK, MLK, Baudrillard, Cobain, or the Virgin in a way that is undeniably real. You can't deny me this. But can I say that Jesus is talking to me through my toaster? Or is the reality that an image of Elvis appears on my computer screen and appears minutes later on my toast, courtesy of the business end of a 50-watt laser cutter, can stand as proof that I am in ineffable communion with the King? Given today's definitions, I think I can say that this easily fits definitions of a “truth-based reality”. Or at least it's as plausible as the other realities I see on a daily basis. Perhaps I have experienced a crisis of Faith. Maybe I do not believe in Miracles; perhaps I have lost Faith in Reality. However, I do believe in Wonder; and that's a Reality I can Believe in. |
Art on Toast by Patrick Lichty Video from the Times ~ Picayune Portraits on toast pitched as modern miracles By Doug MacCash, Art critic, The Times-PicayuneShow Me a Sign By D. Eric Bookhardt Best of New Orleans |