The Sum of its Parts

In my studio, there was a box full of mini paintings that don't quite work. Somehow they lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. Somehow they needed a little something more. Or perhaps less. They didn't look right, but weren't so terrible that they needed to be completely painted over. They were half-formed.

And at home, I had a few little odd pieces that didn't sell. Things that languished unsold on Etsy forever, it seemed.

 

Even this clever photo series didn't help me sell the white mini painting.

Something interesting happened when I took all these little misfits and put them together on a framed board: Synergy.

No, not this Synergy...

Synergy, as in, the whole of the piece being greater than the sum of its parts.

The most challenging aspect of building this piece was deciding where each part would go. I spent weeks re-arranging everything until I found a composition that I liked. Some of the mini paintings I used in it date all the way back to 2001, a reminder that post-consumerism is older than I give it credit for.

I was inspired by the work of Robert Rauschenberg, particularly his "combine" pieces. I found myself wondering what he would do if he had all these bits and pieces whenever I wasn't sure about placement. Once I finally got everything where I wanted it, I took a picture, then glued it all down.

The Sum of Its Parts sells for $300.