Born 1977, San Jose, California
Lives and works in San Jose, California

Impetus, 2014
Video on tablets
Chosen artwork: Home Movies 300-3 (2006) by Jim Campbell 

David Perez found himself intrigued with two aspects of Jim Campbell’s Home Movies 300-3: what it means to capture someone’s image and the fact that individual works of art have an ideal viewing distance. Perez decided to address both. Impetus comprises five poems that refer to the idea of looking back at images, memories and how they change us, and the relationships and interactions of everyday life. Moreover, he decided to share his creative process. Through the use of video capture, displayed on five small tablets mounted on the wall, the viewer sees the poet at work. Keystrokes made by the unseen poet produce characters, which appear on the screen one at a time, manifesting words and thoughts. As the writing is edited words and ideas disappear and reappear, changed, reconsidered, reconstructed, until the poem takes its final shape and form. Home Movies 300-3 must be seen from a distance in order for the image to fully resolve; conversely, Impetus must be viewed at close range to be understood. 

David Perez is an award-winning poet and author, as well as professor of English composition at Ohlone College in Fremont, California. He is currently serving as the poet laureate of Santa Clara County, California.