Poling the Styx
In Roman mythology the Styx marks a point of no return between the living and the dead. My metaphorical representation shows a group of friends blithely enjoying the ride, oblivious of their destination.
Fugue of Time
This image is a visual tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach, whose music has been part of my life since childhood. This piece attempts to capture some of the symbolism important to Bach himself as well as to an understanding of his world and his art. For the exhibition this work was presented as a triptych as another measure of what was important to Bach.
Wayfarer's Refuge
Gustav Mahler’s music, in its complexities and beauty, embodies much of the human experience: loss and impermanence, love of nature, joy in life, wanderings, homelessness, and awe. I first became acquainted with his music while a student in Stuttgart and his work became one of the bedrocks in my life, carrying me through a particularly rough patch in my life.
The Impresario
Most of us in our lives experience a metaphysical transition, perhaps tied to a physical journey, that completely alters the course of our lives. My year in Stuttgart as a music student was such a rite of passage in my early twenties. References to many of the elements that formed that tumultuous year in my life have found their way into this image.
Contemplations
The point of departure for this image was a 1973 photograph I’d made of my sister waiting for a train in the German village of Bad Niedernau, where we’d gone to visit friends. This village, along with nearby Tübingen, was a frequent weekend destination, a refuge from the pressures of our music studies in Stuttgart. This piece endeavors to capture the spirit of tranquility these smaller towns afforded us.
Fines del Mundo
My travels have taken me to diverse parts of the globe and while I drew the initial kernel from the photograph of the Fin del Mundo sign in Ushuaia, Argentina, the working out became more expansive and directions more fluid. The idea of a kinetic presentation allows the viewer to orient the piece to any desired view, constrained only by the two-dimensional nature of the work.
Rocky Mountain High
This photographic collage embodies some of the places, people, and activities that made the warp and weave of my life during the nearly two decades I lived, during my teens and twenties, in the mountain West. The high country exerts a profound draw on my spirit, one that I fully embraced as a backpacker, skier, mountaineer, and photographer.
Rhapsody for the Beginning of Time
One of Olivier Messiaen’s musical compositions is his “Quartet for the End of Time.” This work gave me the idea of going back in time and imagining the start of time, suggesting that music is an eternal art born at the same time as the birth of the universe. Messiaen was also a noted ornithologist, so my imaginary quartet and patient listeners are all birds.
Portal of Dreams
The central Italian region of Tuscany has been treasured by artists since the Renaissance for its spectacular muted light. The capital city of Florence serves for many as a portal into the varied and beautiful countryside. My many trips there have blended into a dreamlike representation in my memories.
The Uncertainty of Cats
This composition started as a visual expression of Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment on quantum superposition. The uncertainty implicit in this concept unexpectedly steered the direction of my work and what was revealed as the creative process unfolded was far different from my initial concept. Seemingly, the box opened, and cats started appearing everywhere. How many can you find?
