ART $6000 plus
Balagan (diptych - two panels - 36"x36" each)
$7000
Balagan is an ancient word of unclear origins, the modern translation is "Fiasco."
My inspiration was ancient cave art, dating back tens of thousands of years. I note as an influence Werner Herzog's documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams." I wondered about the lives of these ancient peoples, about their hopes and dreams, and lives...were they leaving a message? Maybe it was a simple statement: "we were here...we existed...hello."
Balagan is my imagining of a possible distant future, people escaping tragic circumstances to live again in caves. What story would these people tell?
Balagan considers the message our cave-dwelling decedents might leave. Perhaps it would be a story of the rise and fall of humanity, including the fiasco of events leading to their final demise. The richly layered surface recreates a cave surface while the figures and symbols mimic cave-art language. The bottom left corner shows human evolution from primate to weapon firing soldier - the bottom right corner shows our de-evolution to our animal origins, to a religious dark age we once escaped. The upper top left shows a floating bird becoming an airliner, which becomes a fighter jet. In the he lower centre there is a bar-coded hand reaching for music notation pointing to the Kanji ideogram for "music." (the Kanji symbolizes the rise and influence of Asian peoples) The right panel depicts climate change - (an Inuksuk beside with a palm tree) - industrial pollution, religious extremism, the statue of "liberty" holding an automatic weapon like a flag. The upper right shows the international symbol for radiation.
Thus is the story of Balagan, a visual imagining of a scenario which is nothing less than a fiasco. Can humans avoid this scenario?
The Mighty and the Fallen (48"x48")
$7000
I am interested in the idea that there are those who are "fallen" and those whose fate has gifted them a "mighty" existence. Here, those towering people of strength, reach out to support those in need, the "fallen."
The mighty and fallen are walk among us, although it is not always obvious who is who.
The Invisible (Diptych 48"x96")
$7500
My life's journey has proven to me time and again that there's more to this life than meets the eye.
What is visible to the eye can be an illusion, a veneer - the truth is always deeper, hidden in the shadows, like camouflage. As the Little Prince declared, real seeing is not even physical, one sees what is true not with the eyes but with the heart. While a work of art is consumed by the eyes it is understood somewhere else, within the "soul," and it is during a momentary "denouement" that illuminates what is most true and important.
Love Everlasting (48"x36")
$6200
Love may transcend time and space and truly be everlasting - mortal beings can in this regard be immortal and everlasting.
The Waterfall (48"x48")
$6100
Created using a memory, an experience where the water fell all around, sprayed with mist and freezing melted snow, a bond and human connection which was fleeting.
The Immortals (48"x36")
$6300
A recurring thought for me concerns the notion of "immortality."
Our bodies, this planet, is recycled back into the universe and become particles "stardust" that float endlessly in space/time.
Can we live on by leaving behind some mark, or an important creation?
Our own energy, the building blocks of life, have existed for eternity - we are made of energy that cannot be destroyed.
“Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.” (Albert Einstein)
From NASA:
You Are Made of Stardust
Though the billions of people on Earth may come from different areas, we share a common heritage: we are all made of stardust! From the carbon in our DNA to the calcium in our bones, nearly all of the elements in our bodies were forged in the fiery hearts and death throes of stars.