Dave Seiler
"My
work is dependent upon the viewer's physical interaction to complete
it, by incorporating many of our senses rather than relying on only the
visual level. I deconstruct old typewriters, mechanical objects and
musical instruments - then cannibalize the parts to build working
instruments that entice the viewer to "play" with the work, creating a
multi-dimensional experience. Found objects become hand crafted tools
and devices to allow the viewer to create a narrative from visual
sources such as photos, audio recordings, levers and keys that were
designed to make sounds when manipulated. Movements, actions or sounds
are often included within the scenario of one piece. I commonly use
familiar objects such as piano keys to invite interaction. The look and
feel of the piece is often reminiscent of the past and the act of
physical manipulation further enhances memory. My ideas are about
history, but also rooted firmly in the present, requiring one to go
backwards in order to move forward. My work is designed so that the
participation of the viewer is essential to the wholeness of the piece.
Touch and time itself is an integral part of the experience causing
small surface changes in the materials and personalizing the work by
what is usually forbidden in the art world - touch. I consider the
piece unfinished until the viewer interacts with it." Dave Seiler was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan
in 1960 to parents who were actively involved in the peace movement of
the time. He obtained his BFA, with an emphasis in sculpture and
ceramics, from Metropolitan State College of Denver, with a junior year
spent abroad studying art history at the University of London, Bloomsbury. Part
of Seiler's formative years as an artist was spent founding and
managing a co-op gallery with his classmates. ILK Gallery became one of
the premier spaces in Denver, Colorado, and was featured in an article in Art in America.
His work portrays his strong interest in conceptual art, sociology, and
political culture, and is often used as a platform from which to
question corporate consumer culture and the destructive aspects of
globalism. Much
of Seiler's work contains an interactive component, an influence that
was inspired by his employment in museums, specifically as a security
guard whose job was to prevent the viewers from touching the art. Using
a combination of salvaged and manufactured gears, levers, springs, and
keys, the viewer's touch becomes necessary to complete the aesthetic
experience, often being rewarded for disobeying established gallery
rules with sounds or movements. He also works in ceramics, typically
with non-traditional ceramics materials such as wood veneer or rubber
rather than chemically derived glazes. 