After several months of hard work, I've just a few more weeks of even harder work left before the October 5th unveiling of my first ever series in Constellationism, SPECTRUM: An Archetypal Journey of the Psyche.
Opening Reception October 5th, 5-7pm
Not only is this my most ambitious project to date, it showcases my most recent experimentations and/or growth in my own journey as an artist. The series consists of 14 pieces, each one 22.5 x 15 inches (prior to framing); they are each matted and framed identically.
The whole goal of the series was to see if I could throw a group of pieces with the idea that my unconscious mind would provide me with works that would or could form some type of narrative, or, at least, hint at a narrative.
Since myth and dream come from the unconscious, one finds that logic becomes fuzzy. Like interpreting a dream, I had to really contemplate on what they meant to me and how the pieces interrelated with one another. But consciously and logically finding a narrative thread in a heap of dreamlike images seemed almost counter-intuitive. I tried not to obsess too much about it. Ultimately, I knew what the pieces were and how they correlated; I realized that the problem wasn't what they meant, it was giving the pieces their titles.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I can easily spend as much time thinking of the piece's title as I do on the piece itself. And this series provided to be no exception to that fact. Three pieces remained untitled up until the night before I had to drop them at my frame's shop. Sure, I had notes and thoughts, but I couldn't find the right words in a concise format.
My art is dream and myth, symbolic in nature, and therefore does not reference itself. I try to title my work so that it, too, points past itself (and the work) to what the work is really about, and that should require no words. The work should hit you in the unconscious. But it is my hope that, much like when I create the work, there is that moment where it strikes you so profoundly that it pierces through your unconscious and fascinates you for a moment, what James Joyce called "aesthetic arrest".
Anyway, as far as the narrative goes, they are there, and I say "they" because, much like dream logic, different ingredients are often mixed together, lines blurred, genres crossed, etc. In my decryption/translation/interpretation of these images I have found shades of several narratives. I invite you to find one that suits you.
After this post, I'll create a Facebook event for the show. Also, here is a link to the event on ArtsHound.com.
Also in gearing-up for the show, I am pleased to announce that this will be the first time ever that I will be selling giclée prints of the entire series, so if you've ever wanted a piece, but could not afford one, I have finally gotten around to fulfilling many of your requests. There also will be a SPECTRUM exhibit catalogue for sell through the Jung Center Bookstore. A 10" x 10" soft-cover, 20 page, full-color catalogue of the show with extended introduction and liner notes. Not sure how much that one is gonna cost as of this post, but it will be between $30 and $40. If I can figure-out the commerce section of my website features, I'll eventually sell the books online.
Soooo, lots of exciting stuff going on and I'm super-duper busy, so I should stop rambling on and get back to work.