2015

If it’s Magic

Painted Steel, 195cm x 138cm
2015

“If it’s Magic” uses what is generally seen as a vapid and commonplace symbol, the Unicorn. The title makes reference to Stevie Wonder’s ballad of 1976 of the same name. The idea originates with the fact that in the world of high art unicorns have no place. “If it’s Magic” wants to cross that boundary by creating something well made that makes people question what is acceptable in the realm of high culture ala Duchamp. “If it’s Magic” reflects upon the idea of unicorns as chimerical beings, of the fantasy and the magic. What are we looking for when we go to a gallery? A museum? Something that transcends and is uplifting? Magic? Unicorns, normally the realm of preteen girls and boys in this environment are used to illicit a smile but then also a reflection. A reflection on the symbiosis of value and content. “If it’s Magic” is an invitation to look beyond the shallow iconography and reflect on what’s within the boundaries of what people expect and want when they view images. Many people will stay on the surface and see the piece as a simple provocation. Hopefully more will see the warmth and humor that are fundamental to the piece and the key to transforming a fantastical inexistent being into something that resembles magic…

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