The first work in a planned cycle of paintings addressing the end of the world. Railroad tracks are, to me, an appropriate metaphor for eternity (no beginning; no end).
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Watchers
The first work in a planned cycle of paintings addressing the end of the world. Railroad tracks are, to me, an appropriate metaphor for eternity (no beginning; no end).
Peaceable Kingdom Triptych
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together...
Isaiah 11:6-7
A triptych from my "Plastic Animal Phase." To me, the little toys suggest a type of things to come--a sort of "Shadowlands" version of the peace that we will someday live in.
Exit Strategy (Rapture Engine 1 & 2)
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Matthew 24:40-41
Little devices for getting people into heaven (people who have just vacated the paintings). In the center of each piece is a wooden elevator construction. Turning the crank on top makes the elevator move up and down. These works are in no way endorsed by, or an endorsement of, the "Left Behind" books!
Book-Within-a-Book (Gospel of Luke)
Early Christians assigned certain symbols to the writers of the four Gospels: a man or angel for Matthew, an ox for Luke, a lion for Mark, and an eagle for John. You can see these symbols in famous illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells and Lindisfarne Gospels. These pieces are from my "Symbolic Plastic Animal" phase.
Baden-Powell Dispatch Box 1 (Ft. Pulaski)
Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, was a spy during the Boer War. When he was on assignment, he pretended to be a slightly daft British butterfly collector (the enemy assumed that he posed no threat and left him alone). Using this cover, he ostensibly sketched pictures of butterflies. In the patterns of the wings, however, he concealed plans for enemy fortifications.
These pieces are meant to evoke the Victorian trappings of natural history (wood and brass specimen containers, brass screws, faded maps, etc.) while exploring this very weird juxtaposition of something delicate and something warlike. As an Eagle Scout, it’s also my tribute to the ingenuity of this great organization’s founder.
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