echoes of silence ...

echoes of silence, 36"H x 40"W, 2008-2010 ...

sometimes a painting names itself - deep color, reverberating, dark echoes, silence, stillness ...

something about this piece conjures memories of walking through back streets in medieval cities at night - parts of Seville or Barcelona - late at night - in the hours after music and before birds, with few people and even fewer vehicles - the serpentine of alleys fall silent as shadows come to life - faint footsteps, stiletto heals and flamenco boots, whispers, groans, a distant laugh or scream, scavengers, glowing embers of something smoking, ghostly aromas ...

that time of elixir when the past blends with modernity in silhouettes from yellow light of street lamps against hand-hewn stone, stains, and misted reflections - fading beyond retreat ...

when imaginings from a weary, half-dreaming brain become more real than the risks of wandering unknowns, alone ...

where mysteries of chiaroscuro were born from the thickness of history and faith is ever-present ...

oddly enough, a search on the title revealed another source of shared vision - an article by Steve Binderman:

“Echoes of Silence: A Phenomenological Study of the Creative Process” ...

how to look ...

A recent comment reminded me: what I now take for granted didn’t always come easy - that is, to look at a piece of art and share the experience of the artists’ insights and efforts - to learn something from both ...

From an early age, Art has always been transporting - allowing me to live vicariously through the representations of the picture, satisfy my precocious curiosity, and raise questions leading to other inquiry; including the thrill of discovery - it was a way of un-puzzling mysteries ...

a way of utilizing that uniquely human characteristic of curiosity, deduction, and rational thinking ...

One of my first experiences with ‘great art’ was at the Philadelphia Art Museum. In and of itself, the experience left me awestruck; the classical architecture, magnitude, and the collections it housed. At ten years old I wanted to live there, and in subsequent years I probably earned partial residency status.

I came upon a piece that seemed gigantic at the time and totally captivated my attention: “Prometheus Bound” by Peter Paul Rubens. Nearly eight foot square - as big as some rooms of the house where I was raised. How did the artist paint it to look so real at that size? How did something so grotesque look so appealing, so sensuous and exciting? It made me think of similar feelings about paintings and sculpture of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Passions of Christ in our diocese. Who was Prometheus and why did he look so inhumanly masculine and why was the eagle attacking him? Why was it in partial darkness, where was it, and where was he bound? During the same visit I recognized other work that was either painted as darkly or had that lush and lavish appearance - but Prometheus stood out, and even at that age I knew I could only learn one thing at a time.

I’ve never been one to sit comfortably with questions so I began to ask teachers, and when that failed, went to the library - another favorite place to be. It turned out that Prometheus was a character of Greek Mythology and that he stole fire from Zeus who had him chained to a rock as punishment where a vulture would consume his liver every day - it would grow back - and the same would happen ad infinitum ...

Prometheus was apparently the cause of human suffering for mortals - whereas I thought it was Adam and Eve from stories in catechism - what made the Greek story different than the Catholic’s or Jews - those questions would have to wait. If the story was Greek in origin, why did the painting look as lush as Pennsylvania’s landscape. Everything I had seen of Greece looked more like the Jersey shore. Later I learned that Rubens was from the Netherlands and frequently traveled to Germany, Italy, and Spain - lived during a Baroque Period, and that artists often painted the surroundings they knew best. What I was finding from one painting is that every answered question leads to dozens more - an endless riddle of fascination with geography, history, literature, and people. My appreciation of cause and effect - and being human was elevated. I could write volumes on the impact of this painting and the trails of human history it left for discovery, but my point has been made.

Because of the complex trail of evidence left by a painting,I’ve learned to simplify my questions over the years when confronted by something new:

1. What word or series of words best describes my initial response? [What do I feel?]
2. When and where was the painting made? [Where is it from?]
3. What was going on when it was made? [What inspired it?]
4. Why did they choose the materials and approach? [What is it made of?]
5. What are the artists’ influences; personal and/or sociological? [What does he know?]
6. How does the piece relate to history - past and recent? [Why?]
7. What school of thought governs the painting?
8. How does it relate to my view of the world and which needs modification?
9. What does the paintings existence contribute to the world?
10. Does the artist deserve further consideration and inquiry of is their effort peripheral to my predisposition?
11. What have I learned by the experience?

As an example, lets look at the previous blog entry “no. 38” while applying these questions ...

The answers may look a little like this while beginning to form a thesis about the work:

1. what words ?... delicate/ frailty/ obscured/ mysterious/ predominantly white/ purity/ misty spots of color/ faint/ a little contradictory - busy and simple, scribbled but exact, spacious but dense/, uncertain but definite/ free/ liberating/ lyrical/ ...
2. where ?... rural Pennsylvania/ spring time/ northern hemisphere/ east coast of U.S./ near New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C./ NYC is the art capital of the world after WWII/ D.C. is the capital of the U.S./ Philadelphia has provincial history during Revolutionary period/ Native Americans occupied the area/ location of Civil War conflicts/ notable geography - Pocono mountains/ reputable industries/ academic surroundings - six universities in the area ...
3. what’s going on ?... blossoming of deciduous forests/ abundant farming region/ after a severe winter/ unseasonably warm spring/ political dramas surrounding U.S. Health Care reform/ public displays of discontent with government/ depressed economy/ the U.S. is at war with Iraq, Afghanistan, and troubled by stability in the Middle East with Iran and Israel/ there seems to be an unreasonable amount of fear about economy, jobs, health, and terrorism/ erratic and sometimes bigoted behavior among parts of the population/ beyond popular music, television, and movies there doesn’t seem to be much emphasis on culture or education/ the news media portrays its citizenry either as dumb and lazy or vicious and out of control/ ...
4. made of ?... translucent paper/ small scale/ ink/ sprays/ economical/ easy to produce quantity/ either for study, comparison, or commercial purposes/ interested in layering and obscuring previous ideas/ veils/ interested in drawing materials that are easy to apply/ capable of calligraphy, delicacy, and expression ...
5. influences ?... [available through google] - nature/ music/ abstraction/ dedicated/ serious/ informed and versatile in contemporary idioms/ politically aware/ jazz/ improvisation/ expressionism/ recent illness/ studio relocation/ reading physics and classical philosophy/ listening to Arvo Part, Elaini Kairindrou, Marilyn Crispell, Keith Jarrett/ frequents the Deerhead Inn jazz club/ spends a lot of time outdoors witnessing nature/ Lithuanian and Austrian ancestry ...
6. relationship ?... abstract, yes/ expressionistic - yes/ improvisational - yes/ similarities to other abstract expressionists and neo expressionists: Pollock, later work of De Kooning, Twombly, Polke/ differences: more deliberate, edited, combined/ intentional effort to combine selective areas and events ...

etcetera, etcetera, ... but you get the point - one thing leads to another and another - until every painting done by an artist [and i use the term cautiously], becomes a summation of previous works in a continuum ...

[P.S. So to comment on a prior comment - “I’m sure they would if they could” ...

It’s hard for me to imagine not having anything to say about art - and judging from what I see on other blogs and depreciating art copy, I believe most people are either ill-equipped to comment, don’t want to risk exposing themselves, or it’s too much of an effort to summon the will or reason - OR - maybe the art work isn’t deserving ...]

no. 38 ...

logos ... 4-6 ...

"Logos", 60"H x 96"W.

" ... surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. Without disdain. But remembering that our own worth is measured by what we devote our energy to."

Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", book 7, #3.

installation ...

I'm working on a 7' x 15' painting entitled "Aquarium" for a corporate environment ...

until the piece is complete, i arranged a few 'teasers' to spark curiosity and interest ...

"Lightness of Being" is being debuted center stage - flanked by the Homeric Paintings and "Placid Blues" studies ...

infidelities of reference ...

an essay on its way ...

easter sunday ...

one of the most important holidays in the Hallmark calender ...

named after the German spring goddess, Eastre ...

the day commemorates the official arrival of spring with the resurrection of the easter bunny from its burrow as foretold by the ground hog only weeks earlier ...

the easter bunny’s emergence is no doubt a forced evacuation resulting from invasive under-growths of daffodil and tulip roots ...

after his transmutation, the easter bunny proceeds to lay hard-boiled, colorfully decorated eggs while dispersing his stash of chocolates before they melt in the warm spring air or reach their expiration date ...

holiday hams and red beets are more symbolic staples of the carnivorous savagery of some sects while marshmallow peeps and jelly beans represent political extremes ...

the holiday rarely goes unnoticed anymore as shopkeepers count on revenues from the devout ...

lightness of being ...

The title describes the painting accurately ...

It began as a small group of works late last fall ...

The “Jupiter” pieces were inspired by an interest in the effect of planetary alignments and a motivation to continue to paint outside during the onset of winter’s frigid temperatures; allowing me a final foray with sweeping, lyrical gestures and unrestrained application of paint. The colors were deep, rich, and vibrant to contrast the start of December’s gloominess. The palette gradually shifted to dark, moody, and brooding tones, eventually taken to the depths of deep-space blues and black - not depressive or even melancholy; merely the solemn quiet of reflection and pre-dream transcendence induced by hibernation season ...

It was a transitional period of more than usual rest, reading, and meditation while nursing an on-going ailment and navigating an uncertain future ... my energy required delicacy and my sensibilities encouraged flexible acceptance ...

i became more cognizant of frailty and the tenuousness of things - all things ...

I thought about the novel by Milan Kundera; “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” - the struggle to find pattern and meaning in a seemingly random and circumstantial world governed by more vice than virtue - the foreboding momentum of nature’s forces - a book by physicist Frank Wilczek who explores unified theories and visions of nature in “The Lightness of Being” - and Andrew Light’s essays on environmental ethics ...

I’ve always been interested in applying thin layers of images until they achieved the appearance of something more substantial - an amalgamation of essential ingredients creating mass - from cerebral to tactile - and, as a result of the process - a historical account of events combined - an archeological assemblage ...

but the pieces are rarely read that way - they’re usually seen as a cacophonous, expressionistic collage; in the same way marble isn’t understood by its origins - only appreciated by the patterns it contains ...

lately, I’m more interested in the constituents of diaphanous and visceral matter with the goal of combining both techniques ...

“Lightness of Being” is a good example of how the alchemy continues ...

delaware ...

I’ve loved living and working near the Delaware River over the past ten years - a dream since art student days ... Located midway between Philadelphia and the Pocono Mountains; close to the conveniences of urban areas and sufficiently rural to witness the rhythms of nature in a relatively well preserved environment ... [meaning; there's nothing man has built that nature can't re-claim quickly] ...

Up to this point in my career, I’ve been blessed with wonderful studio spaces; partly because of my familiarity with the area where I was raised and educated, access to opportunities and resources, and a reputation of dedication to art as a way of life ... [the other part has to do with the fact that I’m a good gamble in the business of mutual exploitation - my knowledge, experience, and work provides a relationship with dividends]

If there is one thing I’ve learned from living in Nature over the years; it is, that everything has a cycle while everything is in the process of achieving its essential substance ...

I sense my tenure here is complete - that I’ve learned what I needed to learn to carry me for the duration; in the same way a student matriculates through universities to solidify knowledge prior to making their contributions to other audiences. Ones’ alma mater remains their intellectual foundation and nourishment. Nature and solitude have been wonderful tutors.

It is possible the process could have been accelerated by different environments, but I doubt that I would have had the opportunity to witness the experiences as fully as my sensibilities require - my tendency is orbital observation and participation; savoring the depths and variety of experience - perhaps for too long, but probably just long enough ...

The Delaware River that flows near the studio is the largest natural body of water - a few hours north of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and west of the Atlantic Ocean; and like other rivers in the region, the result of glaciers cutting their way through an ancient geography - as it continues to erode through obstacles in its on-going evolution ...

I’ve found solace, dreams, and inspiration on its banks over the years, and more recently metaphor with my own flow, desires, and possible destiny ...

I’m growing weary of the density, entanglements, and obstacles of the region during this phase of my life - a region thick with traditions and dogma, seasons and schedules, and a resistance to change that only accompanies brief history and success. It is the nature of the area and all the intrinsic elements that sustain it - not a criticism of the invaluable lessons they teach ...

What I can object to is the attitude and lifestyles of some, who like myself, migrated to the suburbs; those who violate the covenant of ‘quiet enjoyment’ one expects from living amid nature. A species who escapes to the country for a free-for-all existence without regard for the dreams of others or the reverence nature deserves. Those are the things only attrition can change ...

Perhaps it’s because I recently turned fifty-eight, or that I’ve had a severe bout with Lymes Disease, or realizing that sustaining a studio of this magnitude may only provide diminishing returns, or recognizing the political and economic climate’s urgent need for re-adjustment ... Either way, my future is shorter than my past and there’s less time to avoid the callings of my soul, work, and inquiry; or to accept the unacceptable ...

At this point, I realize I’m a big, characteristic Pisces requiring less of the same and more difference in a pond with too many limitations ...

I long for unobstructed, fluid vistas where possibilities flow without restriction - these are the dreams and prayers cutting my path to the future - as the river flows to the sea ...