June-01-2013 by Tania Dibbs
Shortly after composing my last artist statement, I came upon this podcast while listening to old episodes of my favorite audio show, Radiolab. The show fascinated and stunned me, because it so very much provided a clear and timely example of the very complex relationship I have been exploring between humanity, earth, intention, and consequences. As I listened to it in my studio I actually got goose bumps on my arms. If you take a few minutes to hear the segment you will have a clear understanding of my current 2013 work. Read more
Our relationship to the world we live in has changed exponentially and rapidly. Nature, once bigger than humanity, is now a tool, a resource, an infected organism and a fragmented system. Buy it, sell it, use it. We alter genetic codes, shape the climate, patent genes, change the course of evolution and create artificial life. We wipe out entire species and ecosystems and turn the ramifications into political arguments. Basically, we shit where we eat. The idea of “nature” as a broad, controlling and creative force in the universe seems quaint and secondary. To contemplate nature in this era is to examine its qualities and possibilities: its patterns and symmetry, its randomness, fragility, and interconnectedness, its unavoidability, its potential. 
Don’t rush. Be with a certain style of something and don’t look at it and say, “Boring, I have done that brushstroke so often that I want to change it.” Instead, stop trying to say anything at all with the art…… Just do it and just be with that brushstroke or technique and wait for it to evolve if it does. Some desire in the back of the mind is enough impetus for the art to move forward. Thinking is just an added force that supports artistic schizophrenia. I guess this boils down to having faith in the process and one’s ability. Once in awhile you can really feel the truth of the fact that it is just art and there is no right and no wrong and that is inspiring!
