February 3 through February 22, 2008
Thomas F. Morrissey: Up-Ticks, Down-Ticks: Ciphering and Deciphering the Volatility Index
Artist StatementThomas F. Morrissey: Up-Ticks, Down-Ticks: Ciphering and Deciphering the Volatility Index
Throughout my professional career as a visual artist, I have endeavored to find abstraction in reality and, perhaps, conversely: reality from abstraction. As an artist, photographer, sculptor, and as someone who works across several media, my artwork has always fed upon my ability to interpret and incorporate my life experiences into it: the process of recognition and the deciphering of information. What appears as abstraction to one person is seen as meaningful information to act upon by another and visa versa.
How we decipher encrypted information is based upon how we initially encrypt or cipher that information in the first place. Data is refined and reformatted. Information is cataloged into memorable symbols from which we make decisions and ultimately make art. How we interpret, recall and act upon these symbols (the cipher/decipher process) is also the driving force from which emotion, and what can be called the “fear and greed cycles,” evolve and ultimately control the very process it creates.
I began to develop this body of work based on mathematical charting and graphing techniques some years ago. As a result of this research, I became interested in the abstract qualities of Japanese Candlestick charting methods, originally developed in the 18th century to track the sales of rice crops in a fluctuating market. As I further studied these symbols and patterns, I became intrigued by the conceptually powerful yet visually pleasing abstract qualities associated with these ciphered codes and patterns. Through this body of work I have attempted to visually capture both the emotion and “fear/greed” cycles through which global financial markets are driven. The work incorporates a mix of layered, muted hues built upon each other contrasted by directly applied bold and vibrant color swatches. A variety of scale and media ranging a wide spectrum in size further defines the conceptual parameters of this body of work.