Category: Art

Cause and Effect

Emanation

It’s funny how life has a way of tossing unexpected opportunities at our feet. Lately, I’ve noticed that the biggies are directly linked to cause and effect circumstances. For example, participating in the international exhibition in Chianciano, Italy, in 2010 directly lead to my curating the recent Canadian debut of Pulitzer Prize winner Lonnie Schlein’s exhibition, “Editing the World,” at the WKP Kennedy Gallery. This in turn lead to Mr. Schlein asking me to continue working with him, which is a real honour for me.

In the past ten years, I’ve also managed to make a little splash in cyberspace by either creating and/or maintaining a number of websites. In March, I was asked by Brenda Dyack, founder and owner of ART MINE and design in Australia, to help redesign her website and launch a new promotional campaign, which we are currently working on. This in turn lead to an invitation to Canberra in 2013, as well as looking into several Artist Residency programs in the area. Australia? That’s what I mean by cause and effect.

When opportunity knocks, open the door!  You can be sure that something good is likely to happen, and that that something is likely to lead to something even better. The secret to a full and rewarding life is to generate positive energy, and to be open to what the universe has to give back.

Killing the Muse

Today, I had a conversation with Lonnie Schlein, and we talked about ideas for a lecture he is giving next month in Italy at an international art event. We have been preoccupied with the business of selling our art this past year — in my case, the raven series created on the iPhone, and in his case, the photographs in his touring exhibition.

I have many thoughts on the pitfalls of the commodification of art — which in my opinion has contaminated art, and exiled the muse.

It is detrimental to the creative process for artists to distract themselves with selling — what might sell, what won’t sell, what should sell, what would make something sellable, etc. Pure art comes from the soul, and its aroma is that of honesty and truth, no matter how sweet or pungent. The dollar is a false muse, the fruits of which have no scent at all, and her sister has become an endangered species.

I never realized before now the origin of the word MUSEUM — in Greek, mouseion literally means “seat of the Muses.” Hmmmm… I feel a project coming on…

The Medium and the Message

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This work was created for a solo exhibition at The AOM Gallery in 2012. Each image was designed on an iPhone 4 using various apps, including Brushes, ArtStudio, and 100 Cameras in 1. Upon completion, the file was emailed to my computer for larger viewing, and then subsequently sent to a printer, matted, and framed. More than half of the works were done in bed late at night. 

Click here to view the works individually.

The Medium and the Message

Artist Statement

 The Medium:

Smartphone technology and software applications (apps) have finally turned science fiction into reality. From children’s games, to sophisticated NASA orbit mission trackers, it seems everything is now possible in one hand-held device!

Photography and digital art have traditionally required expensive equipment and complex computer programs. Now, professional quality work can be achieved on a portable phone with a five-dollar app. As an avid techie, my phone has become a small canvas on which to explore big ideas.

The Message:

Themes of transience and life changes are recurring subjects in my work. Family cycles and dynamics are fragile, mysterious, and often rife with memory and longing for what was, or for what could have been—whether the course of things was prematurely altered through loss or fractured relationships, or fully and naturally realized over time. The human condition means that none of us is immune to pondering the unfolding of that which is our life.

Nature is teeming with symbols that reflect our own experiences. Naked trees, abandoned nests, birds on a wire… all reveal a hint of meaning if we open our hearts and minds to it. They have endured as ideal subjects for communicating abstract ideas and emotions throughout history, and poets and artists continue to strive to free the silent universal voice that is ours to embrace and celebrate.

All images in this exhibition were created on an iPhone and printed on archival paper.