This series of work (1975-1982) was an attempt to define another approach to the conventionality of painting of the time. This process for me actually started a few years earlier as an exercise. From 1971 to 1974, I had tried to challenge the pictorial nature of painting by casting latex rubber over an improvised arrangement of general construction materials; 2×4’s, patio bricks, 1×12’s, etc.. The result was an object-like, dimensional work which hung on the wall but projected into the viewers environment. They were physically aggressive, process informed pieces which tended to alter the event of “viewing” or “experiencing”. After several studio moves, these materials, namely latex and rhoplex, which are both industrial products, became unavailable or too costly to use. In 1974-75 I started experimenting with layered paper which continued the idea of a confrontational physical space/object. At first, they were simply 15 or so layers of painted paper pinched together at the top and pinned to the wall. Over the years, they became quite dimensional (typically 6 to 8 inches deep), quite large (up to 9 feet across) and complex in their structuring. Their construction was primarily a series of 25 or so layers of individually painted paper suspended independently from a hidden armature on the top of the piece. The armature then slid over a bracket which was attached to the wall. Each series of layers were cut a certain predetermined way to develop planes which would recede into the piece developing an architectural, almost labyrinthian recess. I was interested in this mysterious resonance of interior/exterior spatial context which was still within the realm of painting but presented a more extreme aspect of the reality of the object; and, something less predictable. I was looking for the possibility of extending the idea of painting in a much more progressive and engaging way, to try to put into play as many contradictory elements as possible while maintaining a powerful, singular image/object.
