Totem Goals
Modern-day totem poles constructed from Americans’ favorite consumer materials—cars, beer cans, even cheeseburgers.
Interview by Rosecrans Baldwin
The Morning News: How do one of your totem poles begin?
David Welch: They begin as a mental sketch. Then I gather materials and start stacking. Location is important. Then I simply build them.
TMN: Which of the photographs best connects with objects you personally find meaningful?
DW: All of them, really. The work is both comment and confession, so the items represent personal consumption as well. Continue reading ↓
David Welch’s “Material World” is currently on view by appointment at London’s Roman Road Project Space. All images used with permission, all rights reserved, copyright © the artist.
Interview continued
TMN: What’s your favorite appliance around the house?
DW: Coffee-bean grinder.
TMN: When are you afraid?
DW: Nothing makes me more nervous than those moments before a commercial shoot. Portraits, too. I have too many expectations.
TMN: Do you consider yourself a sculptor?
DW: Not yet.
TMN: When was the last time you looked at a piece of someone else’s art and were confused?
DW: I just saw two Calder mobiles at a private residence today and was a bit disappointed. Then a nice breeze entered the house which quickly changed my opinion!
TMN: Aldous Huxley wrote, “If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you’d collapse.”
DW: It’s all precarious, like one of my totems. But, also an illusion; you can choose when, where, and how to participate.