nathan ryan 2007
Where does the city end and nature begin? Is nature the untouched forest? Is a park to be considered nature? What about downtown in a city? I would consider all these places natural. Yes! Even the city with its smog and its garbage and asphalt and concrete is part of nature. Humans are an intrinsic part of nature. The city does not create a delineation or threshold between people and their natural environment, it is a subset of a larger holistic world. We breathe the same air, the food we eat comes from the earth and basic elements (if you trace it back far enough), our cities and monuments are in a constant state of entropy.
This cycle of entropy and reorganization of energy is what I have become enraptured with. It is what unites all physical entities, in all states of being: disorganized energy, convergence into life, living, dying and dissemination into disorganized energy. How do I show this unity? My main focus is the human construct - trying to destroy the myth that humans are somehow beyond basic natural influence; Being able to go to an air conditioned mall might alienate us from nature, but it certainly doesn't separate us from it. The very fact that it is more comfortable for us inside a mall on a humid summer day is proof of this bond we have with the physical world. As animals with physical needs as simple as temperature and hunger we are faced daily with our connection to the world around us. So to try and tear down this myth I am searching to find the liminal spaces where the influence of humans or wilderness is ambiguous, as is the balance of entropy and the reordering of energy. It has become paramount that my works reflect this philosophy - a singular photo or drawing feels incomplete to me. The physical nature of the work must reflect the process it is showing. I was very happy with the result of my final works last semester (the pieces I showed were merely the three final products in a relatively long process which involved a lot more lead-up works).
Nathan Ryan 2007