I investigate the relationship between painting and photography, making paintings that engage photography as an overt, painted element. Since the photography literally exists beneath the painting’s surface, I find a strange conceptual ambiguity, relational to the frozen moment of a person, place, or thing that lie underneath the interpretive nature of the painting process. I am sensitive to the possibilities of the "time machine" aspect of collage, also playing with this element to engage meaning. 

The content of my work focuses on conceptions of transcendence, moments in popular culture, and sharable life realities.  I consider my paintings to be open, investigative narratives. My hope is to provoke a sense of curiosity within the viewer, similar to the curiosity I feel when making a painting. I strive to make a painting that has visual and conceptual engagement.   John McNamara - namara@berkeley.edu