Textiles & Ceramics – Spring 2024

Artist’s Statement:

This is a clay sculpture of Elvis, based heavily on one of his most iconic performances near the end of his life in which he plays “Unchained Melody” on the piano. The lei around his neck is a reference to one of my favorite albums by Elvis, Blue Hawaii. Elvis is an icon of the past, and once ruled the music industry with his unique style of singing and performing, which came to an early end as his manager forced him to continue performing in Vegas instead of traveling the world like he had dreamed to, and blackmailed him so that Elvis was unable to fire him.
The title of this piece draws from the story of Ozymandias, about a statue of a king of a former time, broken into pieces in an empty desert. . . . Everybody and everything, no matter how great, will fade from time, and we are sadly beginning to see that as time passes, more and more people forget about the former King of Rock. The iconic music he created will one day be forgotten, and his dreams and accomplishments will sadly not remain.
. . .
My name is Elvis, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.