JASON BRAMMER | “TIME MACHINES” Series: 2008 - present
“My ‘Time Machines’ series merges painting with the art of assemblage. The pieces, at their core, are paintings on canvas, masonite, or other surfaces I construct by hand. Then, at various stages of creating each one, I integrate one-of-a-kind antique or vintage parts, such as handles, gauges, and pulleys, as well as other 3-dimensional objects. I often use salvaged materials, including leather I mold into curved shapes, discarded wood I construct into frames, and other “recycled” objects found in the alley behind my studio. Many pieces also include new materials, like pipes, tubing, metal, or hand-carved wood, that I’ve painted and treated to look old. With my work, I am exploring the theme of perception and how what we perceive may not always be what is there in reality. I strive to create a seamless flow between the paint and objects, drawing the viewer in for a closer look to see what is real and what is painted.
Ultimately, I want my ‘Time Machines’ to capture the feeling of glimpsing into another dimension or lifetime. With many of them, I try to evoke the nostalgia of a past era and, in particular, I am inspired by the aesthetics of the Art Nouveau movement (1890-1910). In keeping with the vintage elements I use, I like to give the pieces an overall sense of being old, found artifacts or “machines” from the turn-of-the-century. To help this along, I often distress and age my surfaces and layer paint and plasters to achieve the look of rusting, weathered metal.”
