Andre Woodward is a contemporary artist based in Huntington Beach. He achieved his MFA in Sculpture from Cal State Long Beach, and has shown his work in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. His work functions not as a single stagnant moment, or instance, but as a function of infinite moments, each one unique and dependent on an infinite number of variables unique to the viewer, the time of viewing, and the context of viewing.
My Little Underground, 2008
H26” x W26” x D20”
Olive Tree, Asphalt, Mortar, Steel, MP3 Player, Audio Electronics
It So Hard, 2008
H18” x W36” x D18”
Cement, Ficus Tree
PSYCHOCANDY, 2008
H96” x W72” x D72”
Bonsai trees, speakers, mp3
players, electronics, pump, hose,
grow lights, steel
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LP: Cake vs. pie. Go:
AW: Cookies preferably chocolate chocolate chip. Cake and pie really do nothing for me, but I’m not one to turn away dessert.
LP: If you could send a video of one scene of your life into a space capsule, what would it be? Would there be a song playing in the video? Which?
AW: I would say Christmas of 1986 when I open my SDF1 from Santa. All the Christmas’ prior to that my older brother and I had received the same gift from Santa, so this was the first gift I got that I acually gift I wanted. Of course the intro to Robotech would be playing.
LP: As summer approaches, I can’t help but crave coconut Popsicle. Do you get any warm weather summer food cravings?
AW: Well every day I hear the Ice Cream Man drive by I seriously contemplate running him down, but then I remember I’m 33. Though, I often crave Jell-O Pudding Pops, but sadly I have no idea where to get them.
LP: How has your art progressed into your current body of work?
AW: About six years ago I started thinking about the integration of technology and nature. Initially I was considering these two things as opposing forces. Eventually, my observations lead me to consider the work as a symbiotic relationship between nature and technology. But, because nature and technology don’t necessarily rely on one another that didn’t really fit. The more and more I looked at things the more the clearer it became that these aren’t really two separate things anymore. Our environment is a meld of both. Our new nature is no longer nature in the traditional sense; it is street lights, asphalt, and power lines. That’s where my work is now.
LP: What sort of planning / conceptualizing goes into your work? It seems to have an almost architectural design to it.
AW: I plan everything, but my work is engineered to have a life of its own. I have to say that I am not interested in making objects. To me objects are stagnant representations that quickly become artifacts or junk that quickly loses relevance with contemporary society. This is why most of my work is alive. Rather than being only a representation of something it is its own entity that changes with time.
It is natural that you see aspects of Architectural Design. The work is based on ideas of infrastructure and superstructure. I am fascinated with our environment and architecture is a huge part of that.
Don’t forget to check out more of Andre’s work on his website!
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Lindsay Preston is an artist and graphic designer from San Diego. In “Lindsay’s Quick Queries”, Lindsay brings you work by contemporary artists, and answers to the questions everyone has been wondering about them, like “pancakes or waffles?”
