Michael Simpson : Painting

My current works integrates the disciplines of painting, sculpture, video and installation within the context of environmentalism. The most recent works begin as video installations called ³Non-Site Paintings². Close-up images of turbulent water from a nearby mountain stream are projected onto large, hand-built shaped canvases or architectural features of an exhibition space. After showing the installation, the still images from the video are used to create paintings that explore and essential moment in the video used in the installation as well as servinfg as a documentation of the video piece. These re-cycled pieces are called² Projections².

The River that I have chosen to be my subject is the Upper Middle Saluda River that runs along the state line between western North and South Carolina. The portion of the river of interest to me flows between Caesar's Head and Jones Gap state parks. They are also connected by a nineteenth century road, now a five mile trail that at one time, was considered an important engineering accomplishment that served as a mountain bridge between the South Carolina uplands and piedmont. The trail parallels the river as it drops nearly 2000 foot. This tributary joins with the larger Saluda and brings water to nearly a third of the farms and cities of South Carolina. It may not be as big or as romantic as the Nile, but its health is just as important as any other is. In fact maybe more so, in that like so many other small rivers around the world, it is more likely to be harmed and more likely to be ignored if it is harmed. It matters that I "re-implace" this five miles of this life giving river.