Artist Statement

Like It Or Not.  A Conspiracy Theory.

I believe that the only things we can truly own are thoughts and emotions.  That is, until we act.  Once action on those is taken, they're up for grabs.  Remember the first time you saw the Mona Lisa?  School text.  Online.  The first time you heard a particular song?  A radio.  A concert.  But whether you liked it or not, you became a co-owner.  It was no longer the sole property of the creator of that song of painting.  Once they let one other person look or listen, laugh or cry, it was no longer theirs and theirs alone.

You could purchase a Rembrandt, lock it away in a safe, but it's too late.  The artist thought about it first.  Whether for art or money or both, he let the idea become an action.

Consider the AMC Gremlin.  Perhaps the ugliest automobile ever made.  If you saw one, it was etched into your psyche.  You became a co-owner.  Same goes for the best and worst meals you have ever eaten.  Songs you loved.  Poetry you found abhorrent.  Someone turned an idea, an emotion, or an experience into an action.  And your purchase was complete.  Sorry, all sales are final.  Like it or not.

Several months ago, I posted a picture I'd created using my cell phone camera.  I wasn't in the best frame of mind and was hesitant to set it loose.  My finger hovered over the "Post" button for what seemed like forever.  Once I did press it, it was too late.  I basically rang the dinner bell and screamed "Come and get it!  It fell out of my brain and landed on my shaky fingers and here it is!"  And with that simplest of actions, I went from sole proprietor to co-owner.  Like it or not.

I'm awfully new to this.  I live with Parkinson's Disease as well as mental illness.  I wasn't too keen on letting go of some of my thoughts.  But after pressing "Post", it became easier.  It also became an obsession.  Now I have to do it.

Look, I don't know if what I do is art or not.  That's your call, not mine.  But it's too late.  I took an action.  You looked.  Like it or not.  Thank you for being a co-owner.

Chuck Dooms