Citing his influences for this recent body of work, Crump references the artist Monet in both his palette and form. Having revisited Monet’s cathedral paintings at the Musée d'Orsay, all grouped together and under glass, he was struck with not only their beauty, but reminded of the shift they represent in art history. This art historical shift was a refocusing on how the artist perceived the subject rather than on direct representation or on light, shadow and the senses.
In reexamining his work and his reasons for becoming an artist, Crump begins with the idea of literal reconstruction of materials, and the suggested reconstruction of nature and the human spirit. In his ongoing collage and drawing works, horses, arrowheads, gems, and phantoms all coalesce and speak to how we identify with our individual experiences, the ghost in the machine, and our elusive and shifting essences.