Pages from the Manual on Dismantling GodExhibit Proposal
Concept: Both in the process of creating and viewing them, the 21-pages investigates the possibility of breaking down a dichotomy between one’s self and the rest of world by compelling the viewer to “read” the visual language intuitively. This helps to promote an inner dialog between the viewer and the work, i.e., whatever the viewer is perceiving in the image and text, they are perceiving in themselves. The process helps to free the mind to move more naturally toward the unfolding present in which one’s preconceptions, biases, prejudices and general baggage begins to dissolve. Ultimately, for me, the title refers to a process of dissolving a separate and anthropomorphic idea of God.
Background: Creating each page of this installation was a process of exploring imagery from forty-years of working as a conceptual-realist. Many pages are based on location drawings completed in the Himalayas of India, Nepal and Tibet over twelve journeys in 1978. The text incorporates current and ancient sacred texts that have influenced my work during that period. These texts include Sanskrit, Aramaic, Greek, Tibetan, Vulcan, binary code, unified field theory formulas, and Fibonacci series, to mention a few. Some passages are scriptural from Dead Sea Scrolls, Old and New Testaments, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Dhamapada, Buddhist texts, etc.
Special Hanging Instructions: This installation can be hung two different ways according to the gallery structure.
The 21-pages are each 31”x 21,” and hang on a 13’ diameter, circular pvc pipe structure that is light weight and hangs by five light-weight cables from the ceiling. Each page is hung on black fishing line and are unframed. The entire structure is light enough that it could be lifted by one person. Once mounted, a viewer would walk into the circular structure and view the 21-pages from inside the circle, a sort of pilgrimage.
The second way it could be hung is each page is mounted into black museum frames for traditional wall hanging. In this case, a few of the larger studio works that are part of this series could be added.
Details of the 21-Pages: Each “page” has seven layered pages. The size of each page is phi, the ratio 1.618. The paper is handmade from the Daphne plant in the Himalayan foothills and is used by Buddhists monks for their woodblock printed prayer books.
