Material Ethereal Constructs: Sequential, Poetic Dialogues
WORK STATEMENT
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”— MAYA ANGELOU
Life is dynamic! We have free will. Humans experience, select, construct, and reconstruct their lives over time or in the blink of an eye. Beliefs come and go and are sometimes useless, like shoes that are outgrown or worn out. Artists create and evolve with truths held deep within. I am not old or new school or trendy. I am evolving within the flux of life of which I know very little.
How do we discover who and what we are, where we come from, and where we are going? Live consciously in the moment and ride the roller coaster of life with equanimity while releasing anger, sorrow, and negative energies as the stars, planets, ecosystems, and cultures recycle. Project loving kindness, compassion, and forgiveness; receive much of this in return.
Are we another form of hologram or "human energy vehicle (HEV)" masquerading as material beings through illusory force fields? Do we pre-select bodies to elevate… or debase? The reliance on humanity’s physical senses or scientific measures to determine reality are closer to folly than truth.
In the end, we abandon all possessions and accomplishments and are placed in flesh-and-bone junkyards or cremated for interment or the ceremonial scattering of ashes. Do souls recycle within the mysterious voids as all energies do? Many sages ask, "Are we spiritual beings having physical experiences?" To what end? Purification and/or Karma? Questions like these reflect humanity's greatest mysteries, scientific puzzles, and truths.
I frequently walk in Lakeview and Forest Hill Cemeteries, and other sites across Chautauqua County, New York. It's time for Day of the Dead inspirations! The rock-hard, stone-cold monuments juxtaposed with the moss, lichen, and lush forest settings to stimulate writing with light. The Sun's light and shadows are dynamic partners that stimulate imaginal journeys. Forms morph again and again!
Photographs meld non-dualities; they present opportunities to open the third eye to mirror the material-ethereal. I stroll and look closely for decisive moments where nature's objects and atmospheres ripen with poetic expressions. Henri Cartier-Bresson’s "decisive moments" pass in the blink of an eye to remain as crystals or pixels. Consciousness, camera-mind, and imaginings become one; memories, worldviews, and subliminal undercurrents add depth and breadth.
My images are sequential, totemic, and poetic. Audiences can touch, feel, and experience the material world's hyperrealities. Some artists spark dialogues by orchestrating a series of images and symbols. Nathan Lyons, the noted teacher, curator, photographer, and visionary expresses visual, spiritual, and philosophical conversations within Notations in Passing.
The arts are a means to define, refine, heal, and enrich our lives in manifold ways. "You don't need to be a brain scientist to understand that the arts have physiological, psychological, and spiritual benefits," said Mary Magsamen, Founder and Director of the International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
ARTIST ESSAY
We have just enough religion to make us hate but not enough to make us love one another. — JONATHAN SWIFT
Humans are not separate individuals, tribes, religions, or countries artificially defined by customs, beliefs, borders, or languages. We are one indivisible planetary family! YES, we are one indivisible planetary family!
Earth is our sole, shared, and sacred home. Humanity coalesces within Bob Marley’s “I and I” and Martin Buber’s “I and Thou.” Mutual respect, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, and compassion for all life are keys to healing, sustainability, and survival. Humility, loving-kindness, listening, and introspection will serve us well. Collaboration, cooperation, and compromise are synergistic keys to hope, understanding, and solutions to challenges.
The Statue of Liberty's "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free" speaks to all times. Some say this phrase demonstrates America's ideology, some define it as a pipe dream, and others say it is a curse. Social justice mirrors philosophical, democratic, and spiritual ideals, yet reflects pragmatic long-term solutions as well. "Between 1880 and 1930, more than 27 million immigrants arrived [seeking safety, religious and political freedom, and opportunity] mainly from Europe and Canada." America’s immigration history continues. What stories will historians tell? Are we creating a history we will want to deny or deminish?
In Mary T. Lathrop's poem Judge Softly, she writes, "See the world through his [or her] spirit and eyes." Remember, vulnerable babies, children, and grand parents, along with mothers and fathers suffer from gang violence, war, ethnic cleansing, climate disasters, and extreme poverty. Earth quakes, fires, floods, and famine devastate humanity and force migration. A friend and retired policeman recently expressed anger and frustration over the border crisis and blamed Congress (not the presidents) for not coming together since George W. Bush briefly enjoyed a majority in both houses. The policeman said: “It's wrong, IT'S WRONG, the border must be secured and immigration justly authorized in a timely manner!” He ended with something like this: if my family were in peril or starving, I would do anything to save them, “including crossing the border illegally.”
As with couples, families, communities, and nations, kindness, non-judgment, unconditional love, commitment, and selfless service must be part of the global healing formula. A critical mass of spiritual healing can only manifest as individuals take responsibility by projecting loving words, thoughts, and actions into everyday life. For insights, search the “Peace Prayer” of St. Francis. Consider Gandhi's simple words: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." This quote (yes, overused) challenges us to radiate loving kindness towards change into our homes, communities, countries, and collective consciousness.
"Beware of the differences that blind us to the unity that binds us." — HUSTIN SMITH.
Enlightenment reflects the shattering of the ego's pride, greed, indifference, and lonely delusions. Unfortunately, critical imagining, Sophia's wisdom, and common sense often lose out to fears, selfish ways, and tribalism bound up in the lower self’s false narratives and logical fallacies! Let's admit we are all saints and sinners, digest our humble pies, and collectively go to work. Cultural creatives of all ages and non-profit institutions are serving to manifest change; they are finding fulfillment, joy, hope, and transcendence through service and philanthropy. Do you hear their grace-filled messages? Are you listening?
A faster, fairer, focused evolution in the language universal connection to each other and Earth must manifest to achieve sustainability. Can we place the needs of others (at home and globally) before ourselves? Compassion and heroism arise in human hearts daily, but a critical mass of illumined global citizens collaborating and cooperating is essential.
During the early industrial revolution, one billion humans lived on Earth, two billion in 1927, four billion in 1974, and in 2024, eight billion. The Industrial Revolution and mass-market consumer capitalism have re-engineered life on Earth within an anemic biosphere and diminished quality of life. "This planet is not terra firma: it is a delicate flower and must be cared for," said Scott Carpenter, an Astronaut for NASA's Project Mercury. Arable land, food, and water are now scarce.
Consumer capitalism as we now know it must move into the light of the nature of Nature. The Earth’s atmospheres, ecosystems, forests, freshwater sources, and oceans are like vital external organs shared with Mother Earth and all people, flora, and fauna. All life is inter-connected in manifold ways. Humanity's small selves are like caterpillars crawling, craving, and consuming mindlessly with little holistic awareness. Does humanity possess the imaginal potential for a planetary metamorphosis? Let's hope so!
"All great truths begin as blasphemies." — GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
We witness the Anthropocene's ramifications daily. Unchecked consumerism and waste, pollution, excessive greenhouse gases, deforestation, droughts, floods, forest fires, and plant and species extinction disrupt the planet's innate intelligence and ability to achieve homeostasis. Humanity is one within a tainted biosphere. Wake up! Wake up! We are Earth's ills.
Greed and misunderstanding brought climate change with ripple effects near and far. Altered oceans, diminished polar regions, and tainted atmospheres spark unrest, disease, malnutrition, wars, and mass migrations. We must envision near miraculous solutions, heart by heart and brick by brick. Humanity evolved from the forests to villages, towns, cities, city-states, great empires, and the global village. We hold awakenings deep inside. Will the Phoenix rise again to dance and sing and shine?
Environmental conferences and summits are moving far too slowly. Could time, energy, and funds be committed (as in an international Manhattan Project) to research and develop sustainable solutions? Radical change does not have to raise fears; transformation is not beyond human potential.
The industrial revolution's science and technologies are miraculous. The dynamics of a new conscious world order of peace, health, equitable economies, human rights, environmental quality, and sustainability must come to the fore. Our egalitarian natures and self-sacrifice must confidently engage universal truths in regard to the Oneness of all Nature.