Statement
Survival, altered space, spectacle, and the human condition are common themes found in my Art practice. Often I blur the line between audience, artwork and performer, inviting the viewer to complete the art. The action of entering into the art work as a participant generates a more authentic experience by suspending the social filters that we carry into everyday life. Similar approaches to audience engagement happen at rock n roll concerts and pro wrestling events. I use cultural detritus as a point of departure. The inherited meanings found within caste off objects combined with a temporal artistic sensibility creates a liminal space that frames contemporary American mythologies and rituals. Through this technique I aim to bring people together and celebrate the common ground we all share.
BIO
Josh Graduated with an MFA from UC Davis 2009. He was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant, and a graduate fellowship at The Headlands Center for the Arts in 2010. Joshua has had several solo exhibits at venues at the Bedford Gallery, Johansson Projects, The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and the Exploratorium. Josh has been an resident artist at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Yaddo, Joan Mitchell Center, and Crosstown Arts. He regularly tours the country operating his Low Powered FM radio project “Bomb Shelter Radio”.
Contact
Survival, altered space, spectacle, and the human condition are common themes found in my Art practice. Often I blur the line between audience, artwork and performer, inviting the viewer to complete the art. The action of entering into the art work as a participant generates a more authentic experience by suspending the social filters that we carry into everyday life. Similar approaches to audience engagement happen at rock n roll concerts and pro wrestling events. I use cultural detritus as a point of departure. The inherited meanings found within caste off objects combined with a temporal artistic sensibility creates a liminal space that frames contemporary American mythologies and rituals. Through this technique I aim to bring people together and celebrate the common ground we all share.
BIO
Josh Graduated with an MFA from UC Davis 2009. He was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant, and a graduate fellowship at The Headlands Center for the Arts in 2010. Joshua has had several solo exhibits at venues at the Bedford Gallery, Johansson Projects, The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and the Exploratorium. Josh has been an resident artist at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Yaddo, Joan Mitchell Center, and Crosstown Arts. He regularly tours the country operating his Low Powered FM radio project “Bomb Shelter Radio”.
Contact
Ephemeral by design, Short’s constructions are composed of materials such as discarded cardboard, scraps of lumber, cast-off furniture, empty cans, recycled electronic components, and his audio recordings. Their material life is intentionally fleeting and inconsequential. The artist’s aim is to create the conditions for a spectacle in which the viewer becomes a participant, much like in pro wrestling and Roller Derby. Ultimately, meaning resides in the memories and stories of these encounters and experiences, which persist long after the objects are gone.
One Piece At A Time from joshua Short on Vimeo.
StandardOilVideo from joshua Short on Vimeo.