As the son of educators I was raised in a unique environment. I had a mother that never said “no” and a father that demanded clear thinking – not a bad foundation for an artist.
My father taught me to cherish ideas, especially those contained in a text. Humans are a messy, inconsistent proposition, but a text can be dissected, analyzed and interpreted objectively. I was encouraged to separate my understanding of a particular idea from the way in which people use it or more often misuse it. Understanding an idea was paramount, and using that idea as a tool to justify or rationalize my personal thoughts and actions was discouraged. I am well aware that this is not the way most of the world operates. Instead of seeking to understand, our natural instinct is to use and twist everything and everyone we come in contact with to get what we want. No one can resist this urge entirely. It takes self-awareness, discipline and vigilance to withstand the inertia of our own self-interest.
The piece shown here is a monoprint entitled “tearing the veil.” The work is one in a series that explores a Biblical text where the metanarrative shifts and we all receive an invitation to participate in the restoration of the world. Accepting this offer, however, comes at a price. It requires each individual to surrender, bridle their free will and resist the urge to control their own destiny. I am certainly not the first to do so, but, I can’t help but draw parallels between this metanarrative and the modern environmental movement. However, it is interesting to note that the final restorative event, as described in the Biblical text, is not the reestablishing of the Garden of Eden but rather a Holy City that descends from the heavens.