Introduction "Nowhere is Kongo Angola influence on the new world more pronounced, more profound, than in black traditional cemeteries throughout the south of the united states. The nature of the objects that decorate the graves there, as well as in places as diverse as Haiti and...
Offrenda for Those Who Died on the Road, 1997 Mixed Media Installation 84" x 64" x 31" Dismantled This altar was assembled for a Dia de los Muertes show at Jaqueline Ross Gallery. The central image above the table is wood, with slate carved into the shape of headstone;...
Carnaval, 1999 Wood, Steel, Stone & Mixed 25" x 18" x 4.75" Private Collection The central figures in Carnaval are Butoh dancers, while behind them mask makers in Rio de Janeiro show their wares. In the far background, a steel mill. The petrified hearts encased in steel mesh are...
Transmigration, 1995 Wood, Steel, bone & Mixed 17" x 16.5" x 3.75" Private Collection Transmigration was the one of the first of the 2-D Nkisi & is still probably my favorite. The central figure is a Butoh dancer. The eye or sun above her is a close-up of a...
Bound Nkondi, 1997 Wood, Steel, Paper, Glass & Mixed 19.5" x 14.5" x 3" Private Collection In addition to nails, Nkisi often have knotted rope, string or chains to bind or guide the spirits within. So this photo of a heavily tied statue on a loading dock was a...
Prayer for the safe return of conscripts, 1999 Wood, Steel, Mirror & Mixed 19.5" x 41" x 5.5" Private Collection The photo at the heart of this piece depicts chained men conscripted into military service. Various offerings are laid out to assist them in returning home. The small bone...
Rootworker, 1997 Wood, Paint, Pastel & Mixed 9.5" x 20.75" x 4" Collection: The Artist The portrait was done in chalk, conté & acrylic worked over a xerox of a photo taken by Sergei Eisentstein in Mexico. Nails adorn the figure as in an minkisi sculpture. The tarred knife...
Medicine Nkondi, 1997 Wood, Steel, Glass & Mixed 12.75" x 8.5" x 4.5" Private Collection It's difficult to see in the photo, but the figure in this piece is a transparency mounted below glass. The face is a shell cabochon I carved attached above the surface of the glass....
Underground, 1999 Wood, Steel, Stone & Mixed 27.5" x 17.5" x 6" Available The face in the top half is carved from roofing slate. The metal to the left is the running board of an ambulance found in Ypsilanti, MI. Mojo jars hang as medicines, covered in cloth bags...
Hunter Nkondi, 1997 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 56" x 25.5" x 6.5" Available The image is carved out of the paint— I painted the whole sheet of steel, and then scratched away the paint to reveal the figure. What doesn't come through well in the photo is the...
Measuring the Moon at the Crossroads, 1996 Wood, Steel, & Mixed 18.25" x 14.25" x 5" Private Collection This was the first of the 2D Nkisi sculptures....
Nkisi Corazon, 2000 Wood, Steel, Wax, Thorns & Mixed 47" x 30" x 30" Destroyed This piece was part of a assemblage/mixed media mural project, approximately 50' x 20' that I worked on with Juan Angel Chavez & Chris Silva....
Straightjacket, 2001 Wood, Steel, Bottle caps & Mixed 110" x 32" x 12" Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. The torso of this figure was a coin drawer. The head is a washboard and a cigar box....
Bride of Daly Plaza, 2001 Wood, Steel, Twine, Glass & Mixed 64" x 40" x 30" Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. The bride's breasts came from an hourglass shaped lamp discovered in an Indiana junkyard. the...
Sentry, 2001 Wood, Iron, & Mixed 128" x 32" x 8" Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. This piece shows an increasing interest in abstract line work. The charred rifle was the victim of an arsonist who...
Emptiness, 2001 Wood, Steel, Glass, & Mixed 64" x 40" x 30" Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. The blank stare of the mirror in Emptiness is a reminder that we all see ourselves in everything upon...
Spill My Guts, 2001 cardboard, wood, glass & Mixed 85" x 27" x 30" Destroyed...
Zozo Throne, 2000 Wood, clay, Bone & Mixed 47" x 30" x 30" Collection: The Artist This piece was made for 3 1/2 Months of Sundays at the Whale, a show of work by The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey at the Hyde Park Art Center, Hyde Park,...
Nkisi Torso, 2001 Cardboard, Nails, tape & Mixed 41" x 27" x 12" Private Collection My original plan was to cast the torso in concrete and dye it with feric acid to resemble a solid cast iron nkisi. The patina on the cardboard was so nice though that I...
Crocodile Mask, 1999 Wood & Mixed 46.5" x 12.25" x 9.5" Collection: The Artist This is one of my favorite found object pieces. The face and jaws are all made from a cut and resassembled cigar rolling tray. The vertical planes of the face are the tops of salvaged...
Fire Eating Bird's Head 16.25" x 16.75" x 4.75" 1998 Wood, Steel & Mixed This was originally intended to be part of a larger piece based on Senufo bird sculptures. I liked it so much as an abstract form that I decided to let it stand alone, as...
Mask created for Redmoon Theater's Winter Pageant, 2000 Steel, Wood, Wool 14" x 12" x 32" Collection: The Artist...
Bizango Altar, 2000 Wood, Steel, Bone, Wax & Mixed Private Collection...
Rooster Box, 2000 Wood, Steel, Egg & Mixed 26.75" x 18" x 7.5" Private Collection This was one of my earliest pieces. Obsessed by Minkisi sculptures, I wanted to make my own. Rather than imitating them precisely, I experimented with different formats, such as 2D nkisi or, in this...
Dark Angel of Hearts, 1998 Wood, Steel 25" x 12" x 4" Private Collection The tower is a weathered bed post. The figure is carved from scorched wood, with cut steel wings and a pulley for the head and neck. The box holds a heart shaped wind chime with...
Cock Shrine, 1999 Wood, Steel, Glass & Mixed 35" x 39" x 9" Collection: Marilyn Houlberg My favorite element in this altar is an antique jar of farm medicine labeled "Pik'r." It claims to be a "distasteful blood-like preparation to aid in discouraging cannibalism in poultry." Other elements include...
Ghost Hotel, 1997 Painted Wood, Glass, Steel & Mixed 18.5" x 21" x 4.25" Private Collection A landscape of sorts with two towers and a bridge, populated by small odds & ends which suggest ghosty characters....
A Heart for Little Root, 1999 Wood, Tin, Stone & Mixed 18.5" x 11.75" x 8" Private Collection This was a Valentine's Day gift made from a box, pressed tin ceiling, a root and a petrified heart stone from Pittsburgh, PA....
Heartbreak Hotel, 1998 Wood, Stones, Steel & Mixed 12" x 5" x 4" Location Unknown Six snared hearts occupy a yellow hotel. The petrified hearts are stones found in a highway median in Pittsburgh. The nails and mesh reference minkisi figures....
Crib Death, 2001 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 30" x 7" x 5" Available The torso is from an old player piano mechanism. The head is an air filter, probably from a lawnmower. The legs were the uprights of a set of andirons. The arms are jawbones from a...
Spicy, 1998 Wood, Peppers, Copper & Mixed 22" x 7" x 4.5" Collection: The Lamprey Archives This was a piece made for The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey, based on the word “Spicy.” The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey was a group of Chicago artists and...
At Peace With His Prayer, 1999 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 14" x 3.5" x 3.5" Collection: The Artist The body and head of this sculpture are made from the found object of a couch leg— the fabric was used as found. The base is a steel wheel. The...
Bochio, 2000 Bone, Steel, Mirror & Mixed 10.5" x 3.25" x 3.25" Collection: The Artist...
Hermaphroditic Knife Bochio, 1997 Wood, Steel, Beads & Mixed 14.5" x 3.25" x 3.25" Collection: The Artist This figure is based on Fon Bochio sculptures. An emphasis on knotting and tying is characteristic of Bochio sculptures and suggests strength. Force and resistance are also characteristic. The figure was carved...
Statuette for Legba, 1996 Wood, Steel & Mixed 13.75" x 4" x 3.25" Collection: The Artist The body of this figure was found washed up on Orcas Island, north of Seattle. The colors are Legba's colors, and he can also be identified by the walking stick and the hook...
He Eats Bad Dreams, 1997 Wood, Steel & Mixed 14.5" x 11.5" x 3" Private Collection The body of this figure is made from a weathered post from a bed frame. His arms are bones. His chest is open so that he can take bad dreams directly into his...
Ghede Libation Bottle, 1997 Ceramic, Leather, Beads & Mixed 12" x 8" x 8" Collection: Marilyn Houlberg This was the first piece of art I ever sold. This libation bottle was used by by Haitian houngan, Saveur St. Cyr during ritual trance while visiting Chicago. He chose it from...
Bizango Bottle, 1998 Glass, Clay, Bone & Mixed 13" x 4" x 5" Available An early interpretation of Haitian libation bottles. The bottle is wrapped in paper covered with gris gris dirt. The spiked steel panel is part of an old steamer trunk. Clay studs ring the top of...
Victory, 1998 Bottle, Napalm, Paper & Mixed 16" x 3" x 3" Collection: Lamprey Archives The heart and skull are cut from the Mexican Loteria deck. The bottle is wrapped in paper, steel mesh and twine. A diamond of mirror is held by the twine. The bottle is filled...
He's Got the Book of Circles, 1997 Wood, Copper, Steel, Bone 22" x 5.75" x 8.25" Available...
Construction, 1998 Wood, Iron & Mixed 10" x 3.5" x 3" Available This piece pays homage to Russian Constructivism in it's use of abstract forms and machine parts. the figure suggests a worker about to spring into action. The steel making up the head and torso is a doorknob...
Cat figure, 1995 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 25.25" x 4" x 5.75" Available...
Root Doll No. 3, 1999 Wood, Bone & Mixed 12" x 6" x 6" Private Collection The Root Doll series was inspired by New Orleans hoodoo dolls....
Root doll, 1997 Wood, Twine, Steel & Mixed 12" x 10" x 3" Private Collection The Root Doll series was inspired by New Orleans hoodoo dolls. This was the first one, which I put together in a friend's back yard, while traveling....
Snakedance on Two feet, 1997 Wood, Bone, Steel 36" x 21.75" x 11.75" Private Collection I found this root somewhere on the California coast while on a long road trip. The iron bands were salvaged from the strapping on a steamer trunk. The tail is steel rod....
Iron Fetish No. 4, 1997 Steel, Bone, Wood & Mixed 7" x 3.25" x 3" Private Collection The body of the figure is an old glass cutter, rusted almost beyond recognition. The notches used for snapping glass give the figure a nice profile....
Grave guardian, 1997 Wood, Bone, Steel & Mixed 8" x 5" x 4.5" Private Collection A carved figure in cedar wearing a steel mask with horns guards an open crypt....
Born Under the Thirteenth Sign, 1999 Wood, Steel, Paint 56.5" x 46" x 2" 1999 Available A pregnant beast squats to give birth. Acrylic paint and oil stick on reclaimed steel. The steel panel on which this piece is painted was signage salvaged from Maxwell Street in Chicago, where...
Calavera, 1999 Wood, Steel, Paint 56.5" x 46" x 2" Available Acrylic paint and oil stick on reclaimed steel. The steel panel on which this piece is painted was signage salvaged from Maxwell Street in Chicago, where B. B. King played the first electric blues....
Reliquary, 1999 Wood, Wax, Bone & Mixed 19.5" x 36" x 3.5" Private Collection reliquary was a study for a series in which I intended to cast various objects into large slabs of wax to be suspended from chains as space dividers, or screens. The charred board that makes...
Two Eyed Jack of Bones, 1997 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 17" x 10.5" x 1.75" Available The jawbones reference Samson, hunting and strength. Rulers, of course, measure. The spears are juxtaposed against the sharp steel painted with danger stripes. The figures in the collage appear in color and...
Crossed, 1999 Wood, Photograph, Paper & Mixed 21" x 18.25" x 3.5" Available Crossed draws from various Hoodoo folk magics. The pods at the top are locust beans, alluding to biblical plagues. The poster that forms the top element of the collage was used as found. the hanging phrase...
Papa Ghede Bell garçon, 2000 Wood, Steel, Paint & Mixed 18" x 32" x 2.25" Available The song that gives this piece it's name translates: Papa Ghede, he's a pretty good guy Papa Ghede, he's a pretty good guy He's dressed all in black Because he's going to the palace The song tells the...
Jubilee Crucifix, 1998 Wood, Steel & Mixed 27.25" x 26" x 4.5" Available The wooden panel is a section of a door, burned and touch with gold spray paint. The body of the crucifix is carved and blackened wood. Found scrap steel completes the torso. The wings are from...
Medicine Tree, 1999 Wood, Glass, Cloth, clay & Mixed 12.5" x 17" x 14" Private Collection Essentially an abstract, Medicine Tree pays visual and metaphoric homage to Kongo and Hoodoo traditions. The medicine jars are covered in cloth bags treated with red clay. The eye on the larger bottle...
All Guitars Go To Heaven, 1997 Wood, Steel & Mixed 64" x 34" x 6" Private Collection This piece began as as part of an assemblage/mixed media mural project, approximately 50' x 20' that I worked on with Juan Angel Chavez & Chris Silva. It was never finished and...
Snakes Came In & Out, 1997 Wood, Steel & Mixed 11.5" x 8.25" x 1.25" Private Collection This piece began as an accident— I was buying the postcard and the plastic snake and liked the way they juxtaposed in my hand. I built the rest of the work around...
Figure with Flames & Moon, 1996 Wood, Glass, Paper, Acrylic 6.25" x 8.25" x. 5" Private Collection The figure and moon are carved out of the painted glass in reverse. The flames and the scythe-like shape in the left corner are paper on the front of the glass. Mounted...
Torso Fetish, 1996 Wood, Steel, Bone, horse hair & Mixed 10.5" x 4.25" x 1.5" Private Collection...
Detroit Icon, 1998 Wood, Photos, Glass, steel mesh & Mixed 7.5" x 6.5" x 1" Private Collection Both the photo of Jesus and the one of a damaged brake drum were found in the garbage at a Kinkos in Ann Arbor, MI. Combined under glass and steel mesh, they...
Marriage Arch, 1997 Wood, Paper & Mixed 8" x 7" x 1.5" Private Collection...
Marriage Door, 1997 Wood, Paper & Mixed 8" x 7" x 1.5" Private Collection...
Death & Transfiguration, 1996 Wood, Steel, Glass & Mixed 29" x 16" x 1.5" Private Collection Acrylic and spray paint on steel, inset into an aged and burned wooden panel from a door. The frame of broken glass is a visual reference to the nails of nkisi sculptures. The...
Sextablos, 1999 Acrylic paint and Xerox transfer onto steel 8" x 10" x .01" Private Collection These four Xerox transfers were created for the exhibit Sextablos, curated by Michael Hernandez de Luna. "The exhibition featured the work of 60 contributing artists who were asked to adapt the Mexican retablo (small...
Mojo Set, 1998 Wood, Steel, Bone, Velvet & Mixed 3" x 9" x 5" Private Collection The six small figures in this set bear a slight resemblance to the work of the anonymous artist known as the Philadelphia Wireman. Each small talisman is made from small bits of found...
Small Hand, 1995 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 7" x 4.5" x 1" Private Collection A charred antique box for microscope slides holds the bones of an animal paw nailed to an image cut from an old book. A cloud of rusty steel....
Desire, 1998 Wood, Glass, Wire & Mixed 7" x 4.5" x 1.25" Collection: The Lamprey Archives This was a piece made for The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey, based on the word "Desire." The box is an antique box for microscope slides, the wood is the scar left...
Study for Reliquary Wall, 1999 Wood, Wax, Bone 7" x 4.5" x 1.25" Available This was an initial study for a series in which I intended to cast various objects into large slabs of wax to be suspended from chains as space dividers, or screens....
Stigmata, 1998 Wood, Wax, Thorns 7" x 4.5" x. 5" Collection: The Lamprey Archives This was a piece made for The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey, based on the word "Stigmata." The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey was a group of Chicago artists and non-artists who met...
The Beautiful Story, 1998 Wood, Paper & Mixed 10" x 7" x 2" 1998 Private collection...
Book of Spells, 1997 Paper, Steel, Aluminum, Acrylic & Mixed 10" x 8" x 2" Private Collection...
Navigator's Log, 1995 Paper, Cardboard, Steel & Mixed 12" x 9.5" x 1" Private collection Artist's Book in mixed media collage. Bound with copper rivets over tape measure....
Six Poems, 1996 Paper, Photographs, Transparencies, Ink 9" x 9" x. 5" Private collection Artist's Book in mixed media collage. A hinged Japanese fold binding, alternating collage and poems....
Xenoglossophobia, 1995 Paper, Acrylic & Mixed 8" x 11.5" x .25" Private collection...