It is with great pleasure that the Davidson College Art Galleries presents Destroyer of Dreams, Or, Container of All Future Meaning, an exhibition featuring work by Darren Douglas Floyd.

Floyd has spent the last two years as Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Davidson College, immersing students in the field of digital art. His course offerings have added innovative digital art curricula to the College, including experimental video, animation, and 3-D printing. As his tenure comes to a close, we are pleased to be the premier venue for this new body of work.

The works in Destroyer of Dreams, Or, Container of All Future Meaning are presented as a collection of related moments within a fragmented narrative. The title piece has been edited from 16mm film the artist has amassed over the past few years. Without processing or watching previous footage, Floyd continued to document his performances, building his narrative chronologically. The final work, 16mm color film transferred to video, with digital video and sound, tracks Floyd’s move from New York to Louisiana, and ultimately to North Carolina.

Throughout the work he candidly examines, or more aptly, scrutinizes his life, including various jobs, living situations, and predominantly, his relationships — with lovers, with his parents, and perhaps most significant to this body of work, with his own imaginary offspring. Destroyer of Dreams is articulated as a filmed letter intended for the artist’s future child, thus, the viewer is at once positioned as both the child as well as a voyeur; we are acutely aware that the letter is not addressed to us. The body of work presented is unique, challenging, beautiful, comical, depressing, and relatable — to anyone who has loved, hated, failed, and succeeded.

The Galleries extend heartfelt gratitude to Davidson College for the interest and commitment to digital studies on campus, and of course, to artist Darren Douglas Floyd, for his dedication to this project.

– Lia Newman, Director/Curator, Van Every/Smith Galleries