“Unprecedented times” is a term I am not fond of, because like “normality” it is a subjective idea. Racial injustice and white supremacy are not “unprecedented,” they have been a core function of this society since before its inception, and those of us who benefit from this oppressive and systemically violent structure have been having our eyes opened time and time again, only to close them once more for the sake of comfort and the status quo. The arts are no different in this regard. It comes from a place of immense privilege to say that you can just focus on your art, to shut out the world, and I never want that to be the case for my or my practice. Art should help people. Art can be a refuge, but it must recognize and reflect the world around it, not turning its back on injustice, and instead lifting people up and standing hand in hand with them.
The works in Garden of Chaos and Mystic Truths are not an escape, and I hesitate to even call them a refuge. These cyanotypes, an alternative process dear to my heart that I have not touched in three years, are a way for me to get back into a rhythm I lost. If my art is a mirror held up to reality, then these images are a meditative practice for me to reflect on my own person, why I make art, and who is it for. How can I make my art more accessible, and how can I learn to make the arts overall more accessible to everyone? It is a vital form of communication and expression that should not be bound by any rules save for those of the creator. Again, this art is not a refuge for me, but a reflection, a momentary place to pause and ponder my surroundings and what I can do to make the world a better place. Everyone deserves a garden, a place where they can go and listen to the song of life pass by, and be comfortable with where they are.
No one knows for certain how long the pandemic will last, but each and every one of us must continue to do our best, and for those of us who have been holding that ages old mirror, it’s about time we take a good look at ourselves and shatter that mirror. It’s just one more antique of a system designed to reflect the faces of a select few. Yes, it has been used to highlight and draw attention to injustices, but often those images are reflected in ways that are digestible to the people maintaining the system, and not everyone gets to see themselves in it. So, pick up those pieces and help create a new mirror, one that reflects all of humanity. There are no fairies to cause chaos that ultimately reveals and restores the true nature of things, that sets all things right. There's only us, and we must continue to work the everyday miracles that will make the world a better place.
I’ll wax a little more Romantic and end this with a quote from Leonard Berstein’s Candide, and it is a verse that has resonated with me time and time again:
The works in Garden of Chaos and Mystic Truths are not an escape, and I hesitate to even call them a refuge. These cyanotypes, an alternative process dear to my heart that I have not touched in three years, are a way for me to get back into a rhythm I lost. If my art is a mirror held up to reality, then these images are a meditative practice for me to reflect on my own person, why I make art, and who is it for. How can I make my art more accessible, and how can I learn to make the arts overall more accessible to everyone? It is a vital form of communication and expression that should not be bound by any rules save for those of the creator. Again, this art is not a refuge for me, but a reflection, a momentary place to pause and ponder my surroundings and what I can do to make the world a better place. Everyone deserves a garden, a place where they can go and listen to the song of life pass by, and be comfortable with where they are.
No one knows for certain how long the pandemic will last, but each and every one of us must continue to do our best, and for those of us who have been holding that ages old mirror, it’s about time we take a good look at ourselves and shatter that mirror. It’s just one more antique of a system designed to reflect the faces of a select few. Yes, it has been used to highlight and draw attention to injustices, but often those images are reflected in ways that are digestible to the people maintaining the system, and not everyone gets to see themselves in it. So, pick up those pieces and help create a new mirror, one that reflects all of humanity. There are no fairies to cause chaos that ultimately reveals and restores the true nature of things, that sets all things right. There's only us, and we must continue to work the everyday miracles that will make the world a better place.
I’ll wax a little more Romantic and end this with a quote from Leonard Berstein’s Candide, and it is a verse that has resonated with me time and time again:
“We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house and chop our wood
and make our garden grow.”
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house and chop our wood
and make our garden grow.”
There doesn’t not need to be any grand philosophizing for compassion, no great investigation or experiment into the nature of kindness, for it is as simple as a heartbeat. We should do good deeds not because it will gain us glory or favor in the eyes of others, but simply because it is what we must do. We must fight, we must heal, we must acknowledge where pain and injustice have been rampant and systemically organized against marginalized groups, we must rebuild for a better future, a better garden, because we must. That's all there is to it, at the core of our actions, our lives. That is why I continue to make art, why I reflect and learn and do my best to help others with what time I have, because what else is there?
An additional note: Art and justice are forever intertwined, so please join me in donating to and supporting organizations dedicated to justice through housing, food, mutual relief, bail funds, etc. Please click on this link for a Google doc list of some national and local organizations you can donate to and support (and if you would like any added to the list, please email me and I will add it). I don't want my art to exist purely as a statement, it feels isolating. Art should be a conversation, and I hope this images and meditations can help people take a moment for themselves, a little comfort in today's world.
An additional note: Art and justice are forever intertwined, so please join me in donating to and supporting organizations dedicated to justice through housing, food, mutual relief, bail funds, etc. Please click on this link for a Google doc list of some national and local organizations you can donate to and support (and if you would like any added to the list, please email me and I will add it). I don't want my art to exist purely as a statement, it feels isolating. Art should be a conversation, and I hope this images and meditations can help people take a moment for themselves, a little comfort in today's world.