I would like to explain this series a bit philosophically. A lot of times I just present the art for arts' sake, and the reasoning and influence behind the works is lost perhaps only to me. That's why artists write abstracts and mission statements and all that jazz. I haven't had much occasion to write about my work. I decided that maybe by writing about the meanings behind it, I can help my brain along in finding a better way to visually describe things, and maybe help my audience along, too.
This particular series is about people and their connection to the planetary universe. I have always had a fascination for the stars and I feel that although they are far away from us physically, they influence us all in ways that we cannot measure through our 5 senses. I am humble enough to accept the fact that there are things that happen behind the scenes in this life that are at this time unexplainable. The moon affecting the tide is one example of the amazing things that we cannot exactly explain, but yet no one can deny it's existence. I also accept the simple fact that we humans just don't know it all. So the idea that there is an interconnectedness between us and the universe around us is not out of the question and I believe it has truth.
I treat astrology as a set of characteristics and information that humans have gathered thru centuries of taking notes, comparison, and experience. I don't consider it gospel. I do however see a simple correspondence between some of the basic ideas behind astrology and our reality. It is not an exacting science for me and never will be. I don't read my horoscope and plan my life. I treat it like maybe more of an influence. Again, for me these things are shrouded in mystery. I am not certain of the exact terminology, nor do I really care to pursue the details too far. I just know in my heart that I am connected to everything in the universe. Me, you, them, the chair I sit on, the room I am in, the country we live in, the planet we are on, the galaxy we exist in...we are all connected.
As Eckhart Tolle put it so smoothly in A New Earth, "The atoms that make up your body were once forged inside stars, and the causes of even the smallest event are virtually infinite and connected with the whole in incomprehensible ways."
This body of work was/is an expression of these ideas. I have used planets and stars as my visual language to show that in each setting, no matter how archaic, the cosmic influence is present. In some of these pieces I have succeeded better than others in translating this idea. I have left out reference to astrology specifically, only because then the viewer may try to identify (or not identify)) with that piece because of the astrological sign I would use. I don't want to be that specific...I have been concentrating on this concept, and I have more to say visually. If a teacher gave me an assignment and said, express what you read in the last paragraph visually, I would come up with something totally different than the artwork I have shared with you in this blog.
My challenge is to go back now again to the table and attempt to put on paper the ideas that are more abstract that exist in my head.
These pieces are destined for The Original Baker's Dozen International Collage Exchange that Cecil hosts in Fort Worth, Texas. I also hope to publish a book using some of these images and perhaps others...the ones that are still in my mind.
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