Xan Deeb - Atlanta, Georgia
Hydration Calculator (2003)

Media: Wood, water pump, manufactured plexi tanks & valves, water wheels, sever arms, slam hammer, sponge, splatter shield, rubber hose, microphones, speakers

ARTISTS STATEMENT:

Concept:

Fundamental, mechanical simplicity overshadowed by original composition and innovation; applicable humor should NEVER be overlooked, just as the workings themselves should never be hidden. Every piece is a binary, the theoretical end AND the means; I struggle through constant experimentation to finally reach an end, and that end is for the audience, who most assuredly sees what my mechanical mind does not.

Medium:

Dealing with simple materials develops its own complexity: Aesthetics vs. Strength, Easy vs. Time, Soft vs. Entropy, etc.  By using softer materials in an industrial setting; quirky mechanics where there should be stability; more questions can be asked about the entire act itself.

Movement:

Mechanization creates fascination, in certain degrees in certain individuals. I wish to reach ALL individuals.

Result:

The end result is never as predicted by the plans. The end is certainly the challenge that motivates the means but is most often, during the creative process, a compromise with both.

 

Local Atlanta kinetic artist Xan Deeb has been quietly gathering a following based on the idea that simplicity and subtle humor are the means to bringing it all together, "It all" meaning exactly that. What are usually complex situations can be reduced by magnification and subsequent simplification…. leaving nothing more than the bare exposed truth, which is more often than not, humorous. Leaving today’s technology behind and bringing da Vinci-type economy to the surface leaves a lasting impression due to sheer visual understanding. Complex mechanisms simplified and performing in an understandable visual language ties together the "question of authenticity" with the very nature of the "problem".

 Xan Deeb, a BFA Graduate from Georgia State University, works closely with the art faculty, teaching various workshops on self-contained mark making machines, experimental art\sound devices, and is currently working with professor Craig Dongoski (GSU) on simplistic speech\art machines. Xan's clinical but unique gourd musical instruments are sold throughout the Southeast US.  Xan's kinetic work is shown exclusively in Atlanta, a town that he despises and soon hopes to grow out of.

 

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