These pieces were inspired by a set of 200 vintage tobacco cards. The images on the cards are of circus and variety acts from Germany circa 1934. I collected these cards not knowing what I would do with them, but I was completely captivated by their animated and often exotic imagery. (Having worked closely with performers as a theatrical designer for many years, I must have known these vintage entertainers would end up having extended runs on their very own stages!) After producing numerous serious pieces over the past few years, I decided I needed to do something lighter and more fun, so I turned to these images as a starting point.

Each new work began with one or more of these cards, and each card spun off a series of groupings of related images, objects and framed settings suggesting their own, highly theatrical worlds. What resulted was a steady stream of light-hearted and cheerful work, communicating a spirit of joy and fun, color and sparkle characteristic of the circus, vaudeville, and cabaret acts. The series progressed as I drew from a treasure trove I’d amassed of other found objects and paper ephemera, much of it from old circuses and circus-inspired toys past.

Step Right Up has no hidden agenda; its intent is, like the circus or a series of divertissements, to entertain. The works celebrate our seemingly timeless desire to perform and/or witness outrageous acts of delight in group rituals filled with hoots and hollers, gasps and mad applause. These acts might be gravity-defying, sleekly stylish, downright silly, full of physical daring, or even contain an element of the freak show. In the end, each work is my attempt to capture, recreate and preserve in a box the flash and electrical charge of a live performance. I can only hope for a few hoots and hollers in return.