Michael Banicki turns his extensive research on categories of banal things (bats, cactus, American towns, jazz trombonists, canals, letters, sub atomic particles, ...) into abstract paintings which also function as comparative ratings. Coming to grips with the existential experience of vast quantities of things, endless details, anonymity vs. success vs. failure, and the analysis of one’s process of subjective preference drives this work. Favorites, worsts, eccentricities, fall to the wayside as the weight of the vast mid-ground in which most of us exist is realized. When sifting through the ratings, a reshuffling of one’s hierarchy often occurs and the fragility of the subjective process becomes recognized.

The preferences in these comparative ratings are established through field study and research on the subject matter. Criteria includes such things as appearance, function, sound of the name, the artist’s familiarity or personal relationship with the item, color, history, experiences with the item at the time of evaluation, etc. The exact criteria is never revealed as it is the artist’s intention to encourage the viewer to determine their own preferences, thereby pointing to personal process of this activity.