Casey

Sculptor and art educator, working with collected natural materials to create assemblage sculptures . I am an easy going guy that is obsessed with anything that becomes an interest - my lady, natural philosophy and theory, an artwork or whatever sets a fire in my mind. I am a hermit to a large degree and dedicate most of my time to my obsessions and creating my art. Despite the futility involved with such an immense goal, I believe all artists seek to change the world view with their work, one person at a time. Every art work is a social piece, in that it attempts to explain a point of view to the observer. Spend good amounts of time with each piece of art people, fundamentally, it is all we need you to do for us. If you "don't understand" art, try harder and make yourself a better human being. If you want to look at some of my work, just check out my picture section...Casey Bradley - Artist's Statement -Whether creating in the studio or reconstructing the very space and materials of nature, I assume the role of medium between humanity and the natural environment, seeking ultimately to renew the diminishing care and reverence that we once had for our world. When communing with nature, I make a compassionate effort to reconnect with the time and occurrences that have shaped my chosen materials. The aesthetic qualities of decay, as well as scars and mutilations of a material, an object, or an area provoke and inspire my sculpture. I often see my creative processes as sympathetic acts, and in a metaphoric sense, my sculptures exist as the result of a symbolic act of healing. I find the materials of nature to hold potent comparable ties to our own bodies, with bone, flesh and blood of their own. At times I see myself as nature's mortician, caring for and preparing her corporeal bodies for a wake in the exhibition space. A sculpture is began with a process vaguely resembling embalming, where the natural materials are strengthened with the application of a sealant, which is drawn into the dry, weathered surface. The materials in some works are meticulously sutured together and fleshed out using beeswax. Cast metal elements are also used in some pieces, where they serve as augmentations or prosthetics to reconstruct or mend damaged areas. In some cases, an incredibly fragile object is cast in metal in order to capture the expressive and emotive formal aesthetics of the found piece. In the creation of a work, I am not trying to restore an object's former existence, but to assist it in attaining a new sense of being, wholeness and meaning. There is a sense of desperation within my work, bound by the inherent humility of the degenerating physical state of the materials. The sculptures seem futile at times, a struggling resurrection of the deceased and crumbling materials of nature. However, my acts of preservation and reconstruction are in direct response to my opinions regarding the contemporary relationship between nature and culture, and are motivated by an intuitive urgency that is anticipating ecological catastrophe. Through the threshold that is nature's substance and material, we can partake from a wellspring of wisdom that is of undeniable relevance to our own experience of life. Whether consciously or unconsciously, humanity witnesses the traces of itself in the ephemeral aspects and qualities of the environment. With its exploitation and abuse, we darken our future. In caring for the natural world, we care also for ourselves.mspmb allowScriptAccess="never" src="http://lads.myspace.com/slides/photoslider.swf?u=104279 52" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="445" height="230" FlashVars="culture=en-US"