Saccadic Domestic Conglomerations

source: kccrossroadsorg

Statement

My artwork explores the interaction of built space with the natural environment and the idea that manmade landscapes express a society’s material and political priorities. Within this domain, my interests range from concepts of land use and automobile-centered planning to the psychological effects of living in the “non-places” of a hypermodern world. Hypermodernity has created places that have no relation to the natural environment in which they reside. These places include airports, shopping malls, and various housing developments, among others.

Many decisions regarding spatial relationships within our built environment depend on the flow of goods and consumers from place to place. Unmanaged growth, known as sprawl, has been the cause and/or effect of problems with transportation, the environment, and the economy. At the same time, this growth has created new housing and employment opportunities. I situate my work between criticism and veneration. Likewise, there is a dichotomy in my aesthetic attraction to images of built landscapes and my feelings toward the issues they illustrate.

I use several tactics to illustrate this dialectic. My sculptures are constructed with materials that are found in the retail and domestic setting along with those used in home construction. Through the examination of the world around me, aerial photography and satellite imagery I select ubiquitous forms and imagery. I then use the same spatial relationships that are inherent in our built environment in my work.

Bio

Born in southeastern Ohio, Dylan J. Beck attended The Ohio University in Athens where he studied ceramics and conservation biology. Upon receiving his bachelor of fine art in ceramics, he was awarded a post-baccalaureate fellowship at Illinois State University. In 2006, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to attend Tyler School of Art of Temple University for graduate school, earning a master of fine art in ceramics. From 2005 to the present, Beck has exhibited widely in the United States and is currently an Assistant Professor of Art and Ceramics Department Head at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, OR.
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source: acdpncaedu

DYLAN J. BECK is a ceramic artist, sculptor, and educator. Beck attended The Ohio University in Athens where he studied sculpture and ceramics. Upon receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics, Beck was awarded a Post Baccalaureate Fellowship at Illinois State University in Illinois. In 2006, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend Tyler School of Art, Temple University for graduate school where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree. Beck’s research focuses on the built environment, including concepts dealing with urban development, the information infrastructure, and the economic, social, and psychological effects of living in a super-modern world.