Wide Awake at the Mattress Factory Todd Murphy By Regan Hofmann, 1995

PLOW was one of my first works. I think artists frequently come back to their original intentions. I have always liked anything astral, earthy, to do with seeds.. Todd Murphy

REAGAN HOFFMAN: The images of horses and geese reappear in your paintings. What do they signify for you?

MURPHY: I have no history with horses. They encompass all sorts of things, power, nobility, dignity - there are a lot of automatic associations. I Like the image of the goose for the same reason - there are a lot of historical references associated with the goose -it's come to mean so much. I guess I like images or things that bring something to the table. Yet, I like to leave things very vague. That's one of the main reasons the faces tend not to show in the paintings. That's why the pantaloons can seem to alternately be inhabited by a body, then not. To me, it makes the work more mysterious and intriguing. If I Said a+b=c, who cares. It's much more interesting if you don't know what a or b or c is.