Kind of a crazy week with a holiday in the middle, but another full one of juggling all the various tasks of life, including precious time in the studio. Johntimothy and I finished watching the first disc of a BBC documentary The Story of India, which we really enjoyed. It's taken me back to my on-again-off-again ponderings about history, specifically human history and the rise and fall of civilizations. These notions are showing up in the work as I sit drawing, the thoughts echoing in gentle waves. I am fascinating by the way civilizations are lost, the way history lies buried deeply in the earth, found only thousands of years later under countless levels of sand and earth. While many of the events of our times are clearly disturbing, I find I am almost always shifting my thinking to the long view of deep time. When will the cultures that define us disappear, slowly covered by the sands of time....what mysteries will be left behind to be found by those coming long after, perhaps by thousands of years. How does it happen that history is completely lost? Each generation serves as a link between the ancestors behind and the next in line and yet, there is so much to be passed on, we take most of it for granted. How we lived, what we ate, what we wore, what were the customs that defined one culture from another, what patterns precipitated drastic change, did we even see it coming? Civilizations are unearthed from thousands of years ago and to be sure, there are many mysteries....but what we see often are the dwellings, where people ate and slept, loved one another or were at war, where people made things and dreamed dreams about the future. Just like us. It's the traces we leave behind....do you think perhaps it's what compels us to make art? This is what I think about....it is encoded here in the work.
Hope you have a good weekend....stay cool if you are sweltering and keep warm if you're suffering from the other extreme! Do have some fun and enjoy at least a few moments of fascination!
Wow - I love these pieces, especially after hearing your thoughts about history. Something reminding me of traditional fabrics and even cave drawings here. The piece from 3 July is the one that stays with me.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie....it's interesting what you are gleaning from the drawings and what is communicated. I'm always interested in the arts that are not separate from life, but grow out of life. And yes, my ponderings about how our most ancient ancestors may have come to terms with understanding the world...it's all there. Thank you for the kind words!
DeleteI love what you said: 'the thoughts echoing in gentle waves' as you are drawing. I can relate to that exactly. Lovely thoughts, and lovely artwork. Always inspiring to come by here:)
ReplyDeleteAnnamaria....thank you so much. I'm glad you like the pieces and am so happy to here there is even a bit of inspiration here....your comment is much appreciated! Hope you are having a good summer!
Deletehi patti. I love programs like that. culture, time, mystery. I like to think about what we leave behind. In a different way, plants do the same, leaving pods and things. I make little objects that I leave around my home which in my mind are what I leave behind. The little objects that I have on my blog header at the top which you mentioned are drawn representations of those objects.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lovely way of writing and showing your art. I enjoy it.
Marchi....yes, I am always drawn to documentaries, when there is time to watch anything, that is! Wonderful point about the plants leaving pods....creating the next generation. I do love those drawings and I'm sure the objects themselves are just as compelling! Thank you for the nice comment about the blog...so glad you enjoy it!
DeleteLovely work - even before I read your words the work was very evocative to me. I like to think of my short life as being an extension of all those lives before me. Looking at what was left behind just brings the past to life for me. Now if only we all could incorporate the lessons learned long ago into our present way of living...
ReplyDeleteHi Penny....very nice to hear that the work was communicating even without the words....all the various levels of communication are fascinating! Yes, I agree that our lives are an extension of the lives that came before....and it's interesting to contemplate how future generations are an extension of us! Thanks so much for your comment!
DeleteI often have similar thoughts about the endurance of memory. I think it is why we create art. but I also wonder if the meaning we put in will be accessible to future generations? or will they make their own story?
ReplyDeleteJulie....yes, I have all those questions too. That notion is brought home when you are watching scholars talk about some artifact from the dawn of civilization, trying to make sense of it.....will it be like that thousands of years from now when they unearth the relics of these times. Lots to contemplate!
Deletefirst, a sequel of delight. i adore the pieces on black paper. especially july 2nd, & 4th. something about the stark contrast highlights the essence of a thing in a way that seems at once the most natural thing in the world and intensely modern.
ReplyDeleteand then, i was going to form a response to your musings on history, but in effect, your work does that better than a thousand words could.
Thank you Anca....I feel very connected to the drawings from the 2nd and 4th as well. I am honored to hear you say the work speaks in ways that words might not....but, I'd still love to hear your thoughts on these matters!!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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