David M. Bender's Friends

David M. Bender's Gallery

At 8:03pm on June 19, 2011, Resident Curator said…: I love what you have to say David, about craft, consumption & monetary reward. I am very lucky to teach at a liberal arts college that still values studio arts. (And we have a really nice band saw.)

There are no rants among the like minded.

At 5:43pm on June 17, 2011, Resident Curator said…: Hi David,

I wanted to tell you that I was discussing the economic woes of our country with an artist friend this afternoon and again thought of your work. He said that the US was in trouble because we don't make anything anymore. I responded "We do!", to which he replied "but not anything useful".

So the nostalgia you identified could have been the quality in your drawing that I couldn't pin point afterall. I don't see a band saw as an antiquated relic, but perhaps this is the view of many when they consider analog drawing and objects in the digital age?

At 8:03pm on June 16, 2011, Resident Curator said…: Hello David,

Thank you very much for responding to my initial comment. I would never categorize your Tanny piece as hollow- but it resonates with an interesting quality that's hard to pin point. I interpret a 'didactic' rendering as a straightforward depiction. I also think it's somewhat instructional, such as in the example of a blueprint. Do you object to that reading? While I completely agree that art making is a dirty business I see your drawing as a weighty, quiet work. Would you speak to the idea of truth in materials? Or maybe I'm off by that assessment too.

Kristen