Brad Ruff, Artist

244 East LeGrand, Howell, MI 48843
bruff1art@google.com



"So I turned myself to face me, but I've never caught a glimpse,

Of how the others must see the faker, I'm much too fast to take that test.

I watch the ripples change their size, but never leave the stream of warm impermanence,

So the days float through my eyes, but still the days seem the same.

Strange fascination, fascinating me.

Changes are taking, the pace I'm going through."

Changes, Steve Pitts/David Jones


      These lyrics focus on the compulsive nature of artistic reinvention, whether it's David Bowie reinventing himself as "Ziggy Stardust" or my efforts to redirect the viewers perception of balance, dimensionality or structure, the fascination is the same.

    

      In my work, the illusion of what is perceived is manipulated to offer the possibility that the rules of nature are not hard and fast at all, in fact I am questioning whether or not these rules hold any validity at all.


      The combination of physics, structural engineering and basic design principles are all explored and questioned as the process construction is begun. Yet, the end result must not only challenge the viewers sense of reality, there must also be a modicum of functionality to each piece.


      In the end we all see what we want to see in each piece, whether it is the slight of hand that makes them work, or the wonder of "how can that be" is unimportant to me, it's the change in perception that is of interest to me.