J. Frede

Artist statement

Drawing strongly from minimalism, my work relies on subtly and details to convey its strength and purpose. Working primarily in conceptual art, I tend to follow guidelines determined by the concept attached to each project. While I can find pleasure in non-conceptual works, I myself have never been satisfied in producing such works.

Much of my work is presented as social commentary or dialog to the world around me. Drawing from history to current affairs. I have worked with subjects ranging from politics to phenomenon, literature to architecture. Modernist design has influenced the presentation of my installation work, relating most to the minimalist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, I have also been strongly influenced by the Color Field movement and their reduction of information.

My work as a sound artist is focused on field recordings, microsound and lowercase music. The recording of sounds in the world, either man made or natural, is something of chance happening, I looked for abstractions that were sometimes impossible to identify when presented outside of the environment they were captured in. In presentation of the sounds, I often work with very low volume levels, which naturally forces the listener to peak their attention and hearing to the slight movements and details of the work. This process tends to eliminate individuals who have short attention spans or patience and lends itself to become an even more focused experience for people willing to understand the work on its own level.

Life produces endless sources of influence for my work. I have always found romance in the idea of the early Naturalists that have documented species while traveling around the world and I’ve been heavily influenced by the idea of such attention to detail and documentation. I am interested in the idea of documenting instances and locations and presenting them as a series or group of works, capturing commonly overlooked lighting of an empty city street or the dramatic presentation of public places under the lights of a movie set. Taking a detailed look at normality can make it appear unique or mysterious, this is a factor in much of how I approach visual art.

j.frede