Monday, January 27, 2020

Ephemeral Conversations - to Stimulate the Universe!

Well, I'm on a word kick. Or rather, an "Ephemeral Conversations" kick.

"To Stimulate the Universe" 11" x 14" “We are poets! Our function is to stimulate the universe, hunting for warped songs and tertiary spacetime music.”
My latest mixed media/visual poetry experiment! This started as a DEMO piece for my materials and process students. It got me all excited to play with materials. ____________________________ I am continuing to work on a new body of work called "Ephemeral Conversations" - A playful merging of mixed media and ephemera that I've been collecting over the years, including images for art collages collected by my late mother who passed in 2011. The themes of the work dive into dream states, psychology and contemporary myth and fantasy.
It is also a play on words. Not only am I using the occasional ephemeral materials from found papers (old pharmacy notes, stamps, pamphlets, bits of wallpaper), but I'm also using words from reading materials. Some of the words are direct and meant to be viewed as a message from the artist to the viewer. Some of the words are subdued and half hidden by other media, meant to add visual atmosphere - reflecting the way you might hear (but not quite understand) snippits of conversation in a public place.
My collection of materials began when I in college. At that time, my mother had boxes of materials she would use for her own collage and assemblage work. She collected old and damaged books on medicine and industry, vintage magazines, childrens books, maps and pamphlets. I witnessed her thought process of during this time of collecting, sorting, cutting up and using these items. When I cleaned her studio after her passing, I kept every scrap she had saved. I have the same desire to hunt for items I can use in art, and continue to add to this collection. When I use materials both myself and my mother had collected for her own art, I feel I am having an (ephemeral) conversation with her spirit as I create.
"The Tempest Whisperers" 8"x8"
I have about 8 of these 8"x8" Ephemeral Conversations now, but I need to get good photos of them! Some of the Ephemeral Conversations (And Much More!) can be seen at the Columbus Learning Center in Columbus Indiana until may 7th. I am currently involved in a show called "A Look at Relative Art; A collaborative family exhibit" with art by my Father Robert, Mother Catherine and Myself.
I really need to make a separate post about this and talk about the art of my parents.

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