Above: When I’m Scared, part of the
series “Dendrites” (2014). 42”x46”x12”.
Plaster cast, pigment, and oil. Photo credit:
Metin Oner. Image courtesy of the artist.
science. The underpinnings of the ‘fight or
flight’ response, Jungian archetypes and the
collective unconscious, folk stories and creation myths, the physiological components of
fear and anxiety, the biochemistry of neurons
and neurotransmitters, emotional intelligence, and the complex relationships we have
with one another—these are the topics which
fuel my creative process.
JB: Your figural works both exhibit and invoke
strong emotional reactions. What is your goal with
this body of work – to throw your viewers off
guard and take notice, or act as an internal mirror?
JM: My intent is to compel engagement and
insight into particular psychological states
rather than shock. Depictions of strong
emotional content, such as vulnerability and
anxiety, can be unsettling. In the broader
history of artistic expression there are many
examples of haunting and arresting figurative
works which reveal greater truths—think
12
Right: Here and There, part of the
series “Dendrites” (2015). 88”x12”x14”.
Plaster cast, pigment, and oil on wood
base. Photo credit: Metin Oner. Image
courtesy of the artist.
of Munch’s The Scream, Picasso’s Guernica,
Kathe Kolwitz’s Mother with her Dead Son,
Goya’s Black Paintings, Michelangelo’s La
Pieta, Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, Rodin’s Gates of Hell, and so many others.
Two bodies of my work which dive forcefully into our human coping mechanisms and
generate self-reflection are “Witnesses” and
“Standing.”
“Witnesses” is a series composed of six
sculptures and seven panels, and was conceived as a reflection on 9/11 and other
historical, cataclysmic events, such as the
eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii.
The series explores the notion of witnessing acts of violence or trauma and examines
the nature of sensations caught in a moment
of time, such as longing, hope, or pain. The
three-dimensional sculptures represent witnesses to the original unnerving event and
now become part of the spectator’s experi-
SciArt in America June 2015