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My
work, in general, is about boundaries: finding where the line
is, and then gently crossing it. I don’t actively court
controversy, but there are those who find some of my subject
matter challenging.
I’m
an avid film fan, and for my pieces I select movie lines from
films that have an edge, a darkness, a certain visceral appeal,
like SQUEAL LIKE A PIG, BOY, from the rape scene in Deliverance.
Or ME SO HORNY ME LOVE YOU LONG TIME, from Full Metal Jacket.
Or ALL THE ANIMALS COME OUT AT NIGHT, from Taxi Driver. These
are films that have worked their way into the national consciousness,
as well as in everyday conversation. It is truly hilarious
to watch people encounter the movie lines for the first time;
invariably they end up acting out the scenes, complete with
accents. That’s my definition of interactive.
The role
of the gun in America is another one of my themes. This country
was built on the gun, and here in Los Angeles it’s often
still that way: I hear large-caliber gunshots on a regular
basis and last week there was a wild shootout in my own neighborhood
that left two men dead. Movie posters often feature a gun-toting
hero/villain. The gun is a national icon, as American as apple
pie and adultery. I started making assassins’ guns (“Sirhan
Sirhan”, “Squeaky Fromme”, “Son of
Sam”, Dan White”, “Mark David Chapman”,
etc), then moved on to movie and television guns (“Dirty
Harry”, “Barney Fife”, etc), then onto political
guns (Dick Cheney’s shotgun). All of my guns are historically
accurate and to scale. There are those who see the gun series
and think I am some kind of gun nut, and others who see the
guns as a very powerful anti-gun statement. I agree with them
both.
Either
way, I aim to provoke a reaction in the viewer, whether good
or bad. I think all readings of my work are valid.
I have
to admit I am influenced by Lenny Bruce, my favorite American
comic. Bruce pushed the boundaries of what could be said in
public, from the stage, and ended up paving the way for a
whole generation of comics that came after him. He also paid
a heavy price for his outspokenness. I don’t aim to
be a martyr like him for the cause of art by any means. But
I’m not afraid to make what I think is cool, no matter
what anybody says about it. People who ‘get’ my
work are wildly enthusiastic about it. I don’t think
of these people as collectors; I consider them accomplices.
A lot
of my work is very personal. I was a professional writer for
20 years before sculpture became my magnificent obsession,
so you’ll see a lot of text in my work. I love language
in all its forms. It’s weird, the things that have stuck
with me: chance remarks I heard a couple of decades ago reverberate
in my head like I heard them yesterday. Australian slang.
Snippets of film dialogue. A refrain from an obscure song.
A smart-ass comment. Any of that can make its way out of my
head and into my work. The din inside of my skull can be deafening,
like there are 20 different radios tuned to 20 different stations.
Converting these random thoughts into metal is one way of
exorcising the demon.
David Buckingham |
