Project Expression
In their raw, physical forms these stone objects exist as a manifestation of a memory deep within all of us. A time of our origins when Sapiens first walked the earth, cautiously at first and vulnerable, and then spreading suddenly and violently to inhabit every corner of the earth. In large part that swift charge was the result of an adaptation born of the mind, stone tools. The process of reproducing stone tools harkens back to that state of original humanity. One of violence and savagery to be sure, but also ingenuity, perseverance, camaraderie and collaboration. These tools are themselves a representation of the mind as it was when it could first be called human.
The digital representations created through this project serve to merge the ancient mind and modern thinking to arrive at something that is truly timeless. Humankind had an understanding of the natural world and our relationship to it on a level unrecognizable to us today. However, modernity has expanded the body of knowledge just as fast as it forgot it. As agricultural villages gave way to cities, destined to be incorporated by vast empires, in a world soon to be globally interconnected in intimate ways, we lost our touch with nature, but continued to push forward and grow our understanding of mathematics, scientific exploration, and philosophy. We carried on the legacy of our history even if we have forgotten it.
Perspective hopes to inspire remembrance, thoughtfulness, and humility as we stand here now on the shoulders of a thousand generations. This work boldly steps into the frontier of a technology that could shift society in ways presently unknowable, and it does so with all the confidence afforded it by the wisdom of those who first transformed our world.
Why Unique Names?
If you look at my Opensea account, you may wonder…”How is it that each point can have a unique name?” It is because each holds within it a unique memory. Each point represents a step in my journey as a craftsman and artist, a new challenge, a new material, a new point style, a new technique. Each represents a success atop a mountain of failure. Each is a representation of thousands of hours of learning, experimentation, cut and bloody fingers, stitches, sweat, miles travelled, friends made — joyousness. My heart and soul are laid bare in each piece, even if it is not perceptible it nonetheless remains wholly a part of myself that I share with you.
Project Process
It all begins with stone. I try and collect as much as I can, and my adventures have taken me through the high deserts of Oregon, the rolling hills and plains of Texas, and through the woods of Ohio and the midwest so far.
Here is my campsite in the high desert of Oregon. This is a publicly accessible park called Glass Buttes, an ancient volcano rich in obsidian (volcanic glass). Anyone can go and collect as much obsidian as they want! Ancient peoples of the Pacific North West seldom used this site. For reasons unknown, they preferred the obsidian deposits in what is now the Deschuttes National Park.
Time to Knapp
The process of turning a stone into a tool is called “Flintknapping.” Ancient peoples would have used bone, antler, and other stones in this process. As a modern Flintknapper, I use copper tools, but the methods are the same. Using percussive force, I take carefully calculated flakes off the stone to eventually reveal the point. Each stone asks for its own entirely unique series of flakes to be taken.
On the right, you can see the stones I have collected and partially knapped into spalls and bifaces (fancy words for unfinished tools). On the right, sitting on my bag is a beautiful Montell point that you might recognize from the home page.