This table has generated diverse
interpretations from fans. That's great. I've also been asked about
my inspiration. Here is the story about how it came to be.
I finished this table in May of 2019.
There was a lot going on then as you may recall. We had a President
who totally altered the norms of behavior, calling people names,
lying constantly, cozying up to dictators, promoting conspiracy
theories, and so forth. But it didn't just end with this man. It
spread like Covid to others, such as the pundits on Fox and,
seemingly, half of America. Then there were the policy decisions.
Denying the global warming issue and pulling out of the climate
accord. Separating children from their parents at the border.
Sabotaging environmental protections. Denying the pandemic and
refusing expert scientific advice. All of these events created in me
an anxiety because of the attack on what is considered normal, a
feeling of dread over where our society was headed, and anguish over
separated families. I needed to make something to express these
feelings.
A table was a common thing. It had a
normality to it. Take that common thing and twist it up, tie a knot
in it. It's a visual metaphor of Trumpian society. It's still
recognizable as a table – barely. If we accept Trumpian society as
normal we might as well accept this as the new common form of a
table.
As well as being a metaphor of the new
normal, Angst also described my state of emotional being. I'm
not a particularly political person and wasn't predisposed to
commentary on such. But Trump created such angst in me that I had to
express it. Creating this art felt kind of like opening a pressure
relief valve and helped me get back to a normal state of existence.
