Pages From The Manual On Dismantling God:
Creating each page of this installation was a process of rediscovering the imagery from 30 years of work as a conceptual artist. Some pieces are based on location drawings completed in India and Tibet. The text not only incorporates current, ancient, and sacred languages from Devanigari Sanskrit to Peshitta Aramaic; from modern Greek and Tibetan to futuristic Vulcan; from binary code to musical notation, but also offers passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Old and New Testaments, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Buddhist texts, and modern physics.
As an archetype of universality and wholeness, the circular form of the installation gives viewers a portal to enter, so they can move toward the center of the mandala and the interior of the “artspace” itself. To create a sacred space, 21 pages numbered in primes are hung as a result of chance after casting the I-Ching.
Each work has seven layered pages—seven being the archetype of completeness. The length and width of each piece is phi, the ratio 1.618, known as the enigmatic Golden Ratio. The paper—handmade from the Daphne plant of the Himalayan foothills and used by Buddhists for their woodblock printed prayer books and mantras—was transported from Nepal to my studio for this artwork.
This installation binds the old with the new world in its content, materials, and a vision that everything moves toward the center.
This installation investigates the possibility of breaking down pervasive dichotomies between thought and reality, self and other. When viewers read visual elements intuitively rather than literally, the mind is awakened to its relationship to the world. Unimpeded by preconceptions, interpretations, or meaning—the mind is free to experience the unfolding present. Thus, a more primal, holistic experience that dismantles perception can occur in each moment of life or when viewing artwork.
Creating each page of this installation was a process of rediscovering the imagery from 30 years of work as a conceptual artist. Some pieces are based on location drawings completed in India and Tibet. The text not only incorporates current, ancient, and sacred languages from Devanigari Sanskrit to Peshitta Aramaic; from modern Greek and Tibetan to futuristic Vulcan; from binary code to musical notation, but also offers passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Old and New Testaments, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Buddhist texts, and modern physics.
As an archetype of universality and wholeness, the circular form of the installation gives viewers a portal to enter, so they can move toward the center of the mandala and the interior of the “artspace” itself. To create a sacred space, 21 pages numbered in primes are hung as a result of chance after casting the I-Ching.
Each work has seven layered pages—seven being the archetype of completeness. The length and width of each piece is phi, the ratio 1.618, known as the enigmatic Golden Ratio. The paper—handmade from the Daphne plant of the Himalayan foothills and used by Buddhists for their woodblock printed prayer books and mantras—was transported from Nepal to my studio for this artwork.
This installation binds the old with the new world in its content, materials, and a vision that everything moves toward the center.
This installation investigates the possibility of breaking down pervasive dichotomies between thought and reality, self and other. When viewers read visual elements intuitively rather than literally, the mind is awakened to its relationship to the world. Unimpeded by preconceptions, interpretations, or meaning—the mind is free to experience the unfolding present. Thus, a more primal, holistic experience that dismantles perception can occur in each moment of life or when viewing artwork.
Pages From The Manual On Dismantling God
Page Twenty-Three Prime: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God
2013
Ink and Gouache on Handmade Himalayan Daphne Paper
16" x 26"
Sold: Frankenfield Collection
2013
Ink and Gouache on Handmade Himalayan Daphne Paper
16" x 26"
Sold: Frankenfield Collection
The music score is from John Adams Pulitzer Prize winning score, "On The Transmigration of Souls," dedicated to those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks.
Page Thirty-Seven Prime: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God
2013
Ink and Gouache on Handmade Himalayan Daphne Paper
16" x 26"
$850 unframed
2013
Ink and Gouache on Handmade Himalayan Daphne Paper
16" x 26"
$850 unframed
The text is the original German script from the last chapter of Herman Hesse's book, Siddhartha. Image shows a pastoral scene with a thatched roof cottage and a map along a river and pathway, pilgrimage route.
Page Seventy-Three Prime: Pages From The Manual On Dismantling God
2013
Sepia Ink on Handmade Himalayan Daphne Paper
16" x 26"
Sold: Barbara Wolfe Collection
2013
Sepia Ink on Handmade Himalayan Daphne Paper
16" x 26"
Sold: Barbara Wolfe Collection
Toling Monastery. Text: Human rights letter handed to the artists when he was sketching in the Potala, Lhasa, Tibet. The letter has been published and was read at the U.N. meeting on human rights abuses by China.
Hanging Plan
Graphite on paper
NFS
Graphite on paper
NFS
Many preliminary drawings were created for this installation. Although this series can be hung in a traditional wall setting, ideally, they would be hung unframed as an installation. This is a view of the plan for mounting the pages. The viewer will walk inside of the 12 foot circle.
Reliquia Dei
2013
Cardboard, wood, paint, mustard seed, Himalayan paper
1 1/2" x 2 1/2"
NFS
2013
Cardboard, wood, paint, mustard seed, Himalayan paper
1 1/2" x 2 1/2"
NFS
These relics are given away at the exhibition opening when the work is shown in the round. The boxes are signed and numbered to infinity. Inside is a single mustard seed and a universal peace mantra written on a piece of Himalayan paper. The boxes are sealed.