ARTIST STATEMENT

At the center of my work lies the spirit of play. I find it fascinating how we project ourselves into the objects we interact with. I believe doing this reveals the layers of the personality. My motivation is focusing on combining two worlds of reality with the potential nature of the creativity. I feel like I am more interested in the process of how these worlds combine. The art I make is a result of those fantastic combinations. This gives me a greater understanding of my inner expressive nature, manifesting itself in a created object. The majority of my work is character driven whimsical and celebratory. Theatrical in presence, it reveals the basic human emotion and curiosity. My intention is connect with the part of the human psyche allowing us to imagine. I do this by asking the viewer to become a participant in completing the life of the art object. I believe I create things that have to find their place in our world. In many ways this reflects what I have had to do my entire life growing up under two cultures as a Filipino-American.

I have a passion for the creative process through concept, execution, and presentation. I find the transition from a drawing to a dimensional piece immensely challenging. I feel that my exposure and understanding of creative worlds allows me to become like a translator. I am always interested in ideas, so I find paths by making the appropriate decisions to express them. I found that diversity of materials have the potential to enrich my art. I believe that my combinations are unique and thoughtful and that resonates to anyone viewing the work.


The Declaration of the Artist

I, Juniper Albert Tangpuz, hereby dedicate my life to exploring the diverse culture of art making. I believe that experience will help me understand the translation of visual languages into a lexicon of my artistic expression. I move forward with the intention of finding new paths both promising and perilous. I feel that art should not have any language barriers. It wants to say so many things. I feel that it’s important to my work that I understand multiple worlds and multiple disciplines to find point where everything is balanced and unified. With that much creative freedom I can truly go anywhere. I intend to follow the perpetual expedition. I feel honored to be a part of its grand design.












BIOGRAPHY

There is a theory that the creation of an entity came into existance after it crashed into the earth. It was then that the fragments of the entity were collected and staged for reconstruction by an unknown cosmic force. It rebuilt the entity and sent it to explore the planet to find a host, in the human organism known as Juniper. It quietly waited inside him observing and releasing small amounts of energy that enhanced vision, touch, and the will to create. The result was the manifestation of a unique artist.

As the soft-spoken Juniper developed he tapped into a variety of worlds where fantastic beings existed. That place held a great value- the importance of creative freedom. The marks made by his scepter granted him rule over his complex kingdom -a flat kingdom that existed on paper. During this period his world of lines and imagery allowed an expression that helped him cope with the real world.

A strange emergence occurred the day he encountered an object, a pair of scissors. The cold stainless steel changed temperature from the warmth of his hand. An energy coursed through his body and the scissors transformed into a sword. It also marked the appearance of the dormant public persona “ T.J.” and a new dimensional world was formed. “T.J.” was the code name for a massive restructuring of his personal life. Earlier versions were made under intense secrecy, but efforts to stabilize were unsuccessful. The public arrival of the latest version of the now infamous "T.J." significantly changed the course of his artwork. The created objects were made of paper and they were complex in their construction. Sheet after sheet all fell under his blade.

With two strongly passionate sides, war raged on over who would ultimately dominate the physical structure. Development of works, success, and notoriety plunged the two into an ongoing rivalry.

The entity within feared an emerging crisis and intervened. A compromise was made. Under the Creative Progress Act of 2001, the two were unified as The Supernatural Museum of Creativity! They found out that they felt strongly over the use of paper, which became the bridge between the two. They shared the same enthusiasm for the illusion of movement taking form as animation in flat space and kinetics in dimensional space. Ultimately, they realized that at their cores they were doing the same thing- creating. Together they explore to find new artistic adventures and continue to do so to this day.

Juniper Albert Tangpuz, also known as T.J., is now creatively at peace.