Artist Statement

Mark Youngsma>>

In the beginning, I viewed the skeleton as the catalyst pertaining to the metaphysics and existential questions of identity.  

Aesthetically, I am devoted to the human skeleton as a subject because of its form, and the positive & negative spaces it provides.  In recent studies, I have integrated the muscular configurations that enable the body to exert motion. The skeleton juxtaposed to the flayed skin allows certain potentials for interpretation.  I explore the skeleton, the muscle, and the skin overlay, so that those three components may reveal their own hidden truth of metaphor and figurative language. 

The approaches that I have learned in my formal training and methodology are attentiveness to structural cohesion, balance, dynamic composition, and high contrast.  However, I have not outlined the explanation of what my work means.  I have intentionally left void any meaning so the viewer has room to interpret and complete the visual assertion.