(ART)ifacts

Artifact- An object produced, shaped, or modified by human craft, possessing cultural or

historical significance.

“I’m in the cave making art. All of human history is in the cave with me. At the heart of the cave

is the desire to create. Observering, experiencing, and utilizing the natural world connects me

to that collective human history. My creativity is a continuation from that first moment our

ancestors started making Art.”

-Rocco

Inspired by the mythologist Joseph Campbell’s idea that “Myth must be kept alive, the people

who can keep it alive are the artists of one kind or another, the function of the artist is the

mythologization of the environment and the world”. Campbell made a direct connection that the

role of the shaman and the role of the artist, both use ritual to see and interpret reality for the

viewer.

Influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s concept of “readymade” sculptures, which transformed mass

produced objects he deemed aesthetically compelling into works of art. He helped establish the

Dada movement which challenged the traditional definition of art. Duchamp’s impact soon found

its way into the avant-garde, where he coined the term “Mobile” to describe the kinetic

sculptures of Alexander Calder. Rocco then combined the ideas of Joseph Campbell, Marcel

Duchamp’s readymade objects, and Alexander Calder’s suspended mobiles to create

sculptures that feel like artifacts from another time. Whether it’s the yokes, ropes, pulleys, or

chains that are readymade, even the rocks are readymade by nature, individually some may

only see objects, the sculptor sees art.

The process is an exercise of ritual. Gathering materials, discovering rocks in nature,

assembling them in the studio, and presenting them in a gallery all function as stages of the

ritual. Even the viewer’s engagement, moving around the work, interpreting it, talking about it,

interacting physically or energetically are all part of the ritual.

“Follow your Bliss”

-Joseph Campbell