It gets weird, in my life, office and art.  The subject matter, medium, and direction I choose to work in means I am picking up strange items; a shipment in the mail recently included coyote teeth and claws, miniature dried seahorses, snake ribs, pieces from an original 1935 edition of Monopoly, a facsimile of a 1928 $2 bill, and dental x-rays films.  It was a good day, at least to me. My poor wife often shivers at my collections. Though she seems supportive of the ideas I pursue, she always seems a bit concerned about being in the same room with my supplies.

But as funny (or not) as those issues are, I have been reflecting on some of the decisions I make about my art’s content.  The above image is from a Tarot card. As a Christian, I see much of the classic Rider-Waite deck steeped in Old and New Testament imagery and symbols.  It’s largely unknown to the public that the tarot decks originated from French, Spanish, and Italian playing cards, and were only later reinterpreted into mystic and occultic tools for divination in the late 18th century.  And while the images best known from Tarot are the reinterpretations by mystic Arthur Edward Waite and artist Pamela Colman Smith, they reference biblical material, symbolism and passages.

So as a visual artist, whose main work process is to take old images and objects and compose them together to form new pieces that often point in different direction than the original materials might themselves, what am I to do with these images?  What can I do?  What am I allowed to do? What should I avoid, detest, embrace, repent of and pursue?

Harold Best in Unceasing Worship writes that a believer artist is free in Christ to create, explore and make art.  His incredibly insightful writing has informed and served as a back drop to how I think through this issue.  I will quote him at length, because I can’t improve how he said it…

Christian artists have true artistic freedom, not on the basis of something as simplistic as right, wrong and so called artistic license, but on the basis of intent and direction.  Here’s what I mean.  Christian artists first of all understand that making art is indistinguishable from worshiping Jesus. In this sense, their art joins up and is made common with everything else in their daily round for which they are responsible as continuous outpourers (the term Best developed to describe the idea of a living sacrifice).  Their art may be their specialty, and its quality may be—should be—of the highest, but it has no greater standing before God than an honestly prepared income tax return.

Furthermore, artistic intent and direction are fully known only to God through Christ, while content is known both to God and to people.  This does not mean that Christian artists must limit themselves to so-called Christian content, especially the all too prevalent kind that is little more than spiritualized gingerbread. It means that every aspect of life is open to aesthetic inquiry, both as to the sinfulness of sin and the grandeur of holy living. Thus, to the Christian artists there are no off-limits subjects even though there are off-limits intentions and directions…Thus, no person has a right to lay an accusing hand, even if it means that artists, along with Christ, may be accused of consorting with sinners, gluttons and winebibbers.

Artistic freedom, however, is not artistic license. There is a twofold danger in what I have said in the preceding paragraph. First unwise or giddy Christian artists will be tempted to take up the badge of artistic freedom in itself (a much flawed and idolatrous badge) instead of being thrust forward in the freedom that is in Christ alone.  Also the public, especially the theologically pinched-up kind, will confuse artistic content and the artist’s intent and arbitrarily accept or reject both art and artist on that ground. Ultimately the artist must stand before Christ and answer for every artistic action taken.

So, the uniformed public be damned, I can use the images I want to!  Right? Maybe, but what this passage sets before me is not just an affirmation of our liberty, but also the wise counsel to consider my heart attitudes, my intentions.

My intentions were easy to ascertain in this regard.  I concluded that my interest in a few of these pieces was simply aesthetic, but by and large I wanted to make some pieces I felt confident would sell, because the images have a certain currency in particular audiences. Maybe I should be more ashamed of that admission, but it is just a fact of my heart.

Also instructive to me was my own review of the New Testament passages regarding witchcraft or divination. Reading the book of Acts, it is Apostles “4″ Occult “0″.  Jesus in his ministry among the Jews in Palestine never really confronts the issue, but as his disciples fan out in to the larger Gentile world, idolatry and witchcraft are constantly encountered.  And of the four times it is encountered in the book of Acts, money and power are linked to it.  The other two mentions are that witchcraft is a work of the flesh and that outside the heavenly city are those who practice magic. Not the company I want to keep.

So here I was, intending to make pieces that included occultic related images for the sole purpose of making money.

And so rather than push through the growing conviction and do what I want because I am “free” I sought counsel from mature, fellow believer artists and creatives, to open my heart and life.  And while the safety of their advice confirmed my sense of conviction, I was also blessed and encouraged to continue, setting my sight less on the commercial opportunities I saw and more on developing at my art.

And that is how in this instance my faith, artistic liberty, scriptures and community work to inform, direct, counsel and set direction for my artmaking, and more importantly how I live all my life.

 

Finished this piece recently, part of work for an upcoming small show, more of an arts and craft fair.  It is a concept I happened upon while making a gift for my brother in law for Christmas.  I wrote about the small jar filled with grass and a cutout of a phrenology head drawing,

“The first little jar has the phrenology head you like, sorry I don’t have a spare one I can part with right now, but if I did, you would have it.  But the image is powerful to me because it is a great example of humanity’s attempts to understand ourselves, our behaviors and our souls.  It is a scientific attempt but it ultimately fails.  The jar contains withered grass and a pinch of dust; both from a graveyard, reminders of our mortality and that there is a terminal limit on searching for self knowledge.”

I had not set out to demonstrate anything really, just wanted to incorporate in a small place, the phrenology head image and had learned it’s background as an example of 19th century pseudoscience (however self serving that term is for the modern science establishment) and it’s ernest but misguided attempt to understand ourselves.   But the piece came together and I was very happy with it.  But the image has stuck with me and I have made a few small pieces like it.

I assembled this piece and love it’s simplicity.

I heard also last week of a a man I know of, a young man with a wife and small child and a promising start as a filmmaker, diagnosed with cancer.

It stops me in my tracks and I have been moved to pray for him and he has been on my thoughts through this week.

It seems wrong to make art that seems playful about the idea about our own mortality but it also does focus our attention to the truth that we are mere vapors, our lives short and unpredictable, this man and his family have laid hold of this truth and have come out with the greatest treasure, resting in Christ for their lives and sharing that hope with all they know.

So while it gave me pause to be making this kind of art I take courage that it’s ultimate aim is to point to our need to be prepared for eternity and trust in Christ

I embarked on a project last summer 8/16/2009 to develop a discipline as an artist by looking for a object each day, any kind of object, collect it, log it and tie it to a string to keep it.

I did it, and I learned how much of a perfectionist I can be and how much I needed to push through the unimpressive days, the days of leaves and small bits of garbage and just keep doing the project.  Some nights I got out of bed realizing I had not collected, and once, just once I woke the next day and realized I never collected an object.  1 out of 365.  That is not bad.  I lost one object to find it later that day, and I have lost objects and not replaced, again just once.  2 out of 365, that’s a success rate of %99.45, again not bad for my first ever year long assignment. I found more value in overcoming small imperfections than restarting to get it right.

I challenged myself to try to not repeat objects, as best I could.  I discovered there are lot more people who lose their sunglasses and eyeglasses on than I expected.  I found drugs (turned in to Police) bullets, money, condoms new and used (only collected the new ones). I found stuff that was pure junk and I found stuff that was probably pure junk but that has found it’s way into other projects.  I discovered some parts of town have regular sweeping days while others no one seems to take responsibility for.

I have a canopy of objects in my study space, that seems fun to think was once underfoot.  It reads in some ways like the book of Proverbs, there is little pattern, just the constant object on display, one after another.

I am convinced it would make a great exhibit someday and somewhere, but that may be vanity, I know for sure it was worth doing and that I got a lot out of it, mostly unseen stuff for myself.  Below is the original instructions and the log with some more pictures.

365 Object A Day

A yearlong assignment beginning today, August 16, 2009.

Each day, find one object, and enter it in the log below and attach it to the string.  No alteration except whatever is required to attach it to the string.  I can add to the length of string as needed.  Duplication is not what I want but there may be several days of cigarette butts and beer caps, as long as I am daily looking for an object and at least every other day entering items in the log and adding it to the chain, so it doesn’t get piled up.

Interest is in daily discipline of looking and logging.  No apparent trend or meaning as yet just to develop a way of being and looking.

8/16/09                   yellow crayon                                                                   Wal-Mart parking lot.

8/17/09                  big, old bolt                                                                        St by our house

8/18/09                  gold and pearl clip on earring                                      Parking lot at work

8/19/09                  beat up feather                                                                   Parking lot at BnN

8/20/09                  bobby pin                                                                            Parking lot at church

8/21/09                  TY heart tag                                                                        Parking lot at work

8/22/09                  bracelet                                                                                sidewalk by house

8/23/09                   D cell battery top                                                              Church parking lot

8/24/09                  clear tube                                                                            Parking lot at work

8/25/09                  washer of some sort                                                        parking lot at house

8/26/09                  rusted nail                                                                          parking lot by house

While driving around looking for throw piles to go through I saw a homeless guy sitting under tree by busy down town off ramp and in back alley of my town I saw an old guy bringing water to take care of stray cats/kittens.  Both would have gone unnoticed if I had not been looking for discarded items to use to make art.

8/27/09                  blue plastic diamond shape                                            Parking lot

8/28/09                  penny                                                                                    Parking lot

8/29/09                   Ale8 1 Bottle cap                                                                Kroger parking lot

8/30/09                  rusted washer?                                                                    Church parking lot

8/31/09                  Losing KY lottery ticket                                                     Kroger parking lot

9/1/09                     yellow, black and white cord                                           stairwell at work

9/2/09                     part of a rubber ball                                                            parking lot at work

9/3/09                     rubber Palm accessory                                                       parking lot at work

9/4/09                     leather zipper fob                                                                 parking lot at work

9/5/09                     part of lamp                                                                           Minister’s Treehouse

9/6/09                     Copenhagen lid                                                                    VFW BBQ, TN

9/7/09                     Plastic cap for toy gun                                                        Going to mailbox

9/8/09                     Packet of silica                                                                     Grocery store

9/9/09                     garden tag                                                                              work sidewalk

9/10/09                  plastic shoe heel                                                                   church parking lot

9/11/09                   suction cup                                                                              taking out garbage

9/12/09                   spool of purple thread                                                          walking down the St

9/13/09                   tag from Tiger blanket                                                         bedroom floor

I have had this blanket since 5^th or 6^th grade, ca 1984, so it is at least 25 years old, and it is my wife’s favorite blanket.  I am glad I found the tag to include in this project, no idea how many more years it has.

9/14/09                  yellow wire cap                                                                       work parking lot

9/15/09                  plastic smiley guy with hat on                                            work hallway

9/16/09                  half of a plastic mechanical pencil                                    nature trail

9/17/09                  lego piece for a race car                                                         stopped at a light

9/18/09                  angel                                                                                          on my desk

9/19/09                  toothbrush                                                                                on the St

9/20/09                  promotional guitar pick                                                       work parking lot

9/21/09                  Grater’s Ice Cream Lid                                                          courtyard at work

9/22/09                  paper clip                                                                                 at the house

I had found a small losing game piece from a Subway cup, but it must have fell out of my pocket.  That is the first time I did not have an object from my day out.  I used a paperclip I found here in the house and will no longer collect just one piece, even on a slow day

9/23/09                  broken piece of Toyota logo                                                junkyard

9/24/09                  child’s alphabet block                                                          at church

Yes I do feel a little guilty but it was in an adult classroom and I figured it was probably a lost toy by now anyways.

9/25/09                  button                                                                                       courtyard at work

9/26/09                  broken break light piece                                                      checking mail

9/27/09                  little lighter                                                                             parking lot at work

9/28/09                  “driftwood”                                                                             random parking lot

I was sort of depressed Sunday when I found some acorns.  Only because I found them in a parking lot at Barnes and Noble, because of the landscaped trees.  Made me realize how far removed I am from creation on a daily basis.  This “driftwood” is actually found in a parking lot too, though it looks pretty and could be found on a beach somewhere so I decided to include it.

9/29/09                  Ricola wrapper                                                                     parking lot at Starbucks

9/30/09                  air freshener                                                                          junkyard

10/1/09                  child restraint tag                                                                 getting the mail

10/2/09                  Champagne wire basket                                                     in front of St Joseph’s Catholic Church

10/3/09                  .22 caliber bullet                                                                   in Kroger parking lot (Bullit County, KY)

10/4/09                  wiffle ball                                                                                train tracks

10/5/09                  rusty “V”                                                                                  parking lot at work

10/6/09                  top of tire gauge                                                                     parking lot at work

10/7/09                  broken key fob                                                                       Walmart parking lot

10/8/09                  tattered silk flower                                                               cemetery

10/9/09                  black tube                                                                               parking lot

10/10/09                paper airplane made from receipt                                   McDo0nald’s parking lot

10/11/09                birthday candle                                                      elevator

10/12/09                drill bit                                                                        hobby shop parking lot

10/13/09                tin top of mint box                                    roadside

10/14/09                popcorn                                                      theater

10/15/09                broken clothes pin                                    church parking lot

10/16/09                broken glasses                                                       Bardstown Rd

10/17/09                old Christmas ornament                                    walkway up to church

10/18/09                finger puppet                                                      church parking lot

10/19/09                wasp nest                                                      work parking lot

10/20/09               empty 50 ml vodka bottle                  cemetery

10/21/09                poorly written tract                                    outside tattoo shop

10/22/09                scissor handle                                                      railroad track

Five month anniversary

10/23/09                nut                                                                        work parking lot

10/24/09                grey cap to cover screw                                    Kroger parking lot

10/25/09                4 of Diamonds                                                      work

10/26/09                empty plastic badge holder                  outside work building

10/27/09                lead seal                                                      gas station

10/28/09               old rubber band                                    parking lot

10/29/09                old soda can tab                                    downtown Louisville

10/30/09               tire valve cap                                                      work parking lot

10/31/09                broken watch band piece                  along the road

David and Chrystal got married today.

11/1/09                  empty grape jam packet from McD’s                  along the road

11/2/09                  plastic hanger                                                      random parking lot

While looking for objects in this parking lot I came upon a homemade pipe, made from brass  fittings, a lighter and a bag with a joint and some weed left in it.  Called cops to have it picked up.  So far that is a first.  I have also spotted 4 used condoms.

11/3/09                  green rubber baby bottle nipple                  Bardstown Road

11/4/09                  wall plate for light switch                  work parking lot

11/5/09                  DOTD butterfly from 21C installment (on the ground)               7^th St.

11/6/09                  broken led light of some sort                                                              Walmart parking lot

11/7/09                  flat metal rod                                                                                           work parking lot

11/8/09                  plastic mesh net                                                                                     random parking lot

11/9/09                  Burt’s beeswax lip balm tin                                                                 Bardstown Rd

11/10/09                plastic floral decoration piece?                                                        On the floor at work

11/11/09                 metal plate of some sort                                                                      parking lot

11/12/09                 flattened bottle cap                                                                              Asbury College parking lot

11/13/09                 spring                                                                                                      Story Ave

11/14/09                 cut coat hanger                                                                                     flea market parking lot

11/15/09                 tire weight                                                                                              Dutchman’s Lane

11/16/09                 hair tie                                                                                                     parking lot

11/17/09                 thorn                                                                                                        tree by home

11/18/09                 kernel of corn                                                                                        railroad track

11/19/09                 engagement ring                                                                                  Bardstown Rd

11/20/09                metal cover for fan of computer                                                       floor at work

11/21/09                 spark plug box                                                                                      behind pizza place

11/22/09                 grocery list                                                                                             inside Meijer’s

6 month anniversary

11/23/09                 checker                                                                                                   desk at work

100 days of collecting

11/24/09                 metal nozzle                                                                                                            Bardstown Road

11/25/09                 Cool Grape candy box                                                                                          Frankfurt Ave

11/26/09                 wildflower (pressed for preservation by me)                                                      Lake by house

11/27/09                 plastic knife                                                                                                            parking lot at work

11/28/09                light bulb                                                                                                             Lowe’s parking lot

11/29/09                 gum wrapper                                                                                                            elevator at work

11/30/09                brass pipe fitting                                                                                          my new used truck

12/1/09                  rusty wire                                                                                                            Walgreen’s parking lot

12/2/09                  dental pick                                                                                                            Lowe’s parking lot

In violation of no orifice rule, but I did use a plastic bag to collect it and never touched with my hands.

12/3/09                  pencil                                                                                                                              Bardstown Rd

12/4/09                  broken glass bottle                                                                                          trail by work

12/5/09                  empty pill blister pack                                                                                          behind Borders

12/6/09                  Candy Label Santa’s Gift                                                                         Walgreen’s parking lot

12/7/09                  Papa John magnet                                                                                          front porch

12/8/09                  hair thing                                                                                                            lobby of building

I had this in my pocket from days before, it apparently fell out and I found it again later in the day. Lost and found and lost and found again.

12/9/09                   I’ve been Krogering sticker                                                                        Kroger

12/10/09                pump                                                                                                                              St

12/11/09                 plastic cap gun piece                                                                                          parking lot

12/12/09                crusted, rusted(?) piece of plastic                                                                        parking lot

12/13/09                baby’s sock                                                                                                            BnN parking lot

12/14/09                sparkly cardboard                                                                                          floor at work

12/15/09                B29 tag                                                                                                                              floor at work

12/16/09                thistle                                                                                                                              roadside

12/17/09                gumball machine plastic container                                                                        ashtray outside Subway

12/18/09                little skull                                                                                                            parking lot

12/19/09                hair clip                                                                                                                              parking lot

12/20/09                piece or chain link fence                                                                        Church parking lot

12/21/09                candle price tag                                                                                                            sidewalk at work

12/22/09                flattened cake decorating tip                                                                        parking lot by bakery

12/23/09                roll of used caps from cap gun                                                                         Ashley farm

12/24/09                leather skins cutout                                                                                          Big Lots floor

12/25/09                piece of yarn                                                                                                            Granny’s garage

12/26/09                fortune from cookie                                                                                          desk at work

12/27/09                headphones                                                                                                             parking lot at work

12/28/09                black thing?                                                                                                            Parking lot at work

12/29/09                peanut                                                                                                                              5 Guys Burgers

12/30/09                finger nail                                                                                                            outside bank

12/31/09                comb                                                                                                                              outside Lowe’s

1/1/10                     flower pod                                                                                                            Gethsemane Abbey

1/2/10                     squirrel vertebrae                                                                                           Michael’s parking lot

1/3/10                     earring                                                                                                                               parking lot

1/4/10                     soy sauce packet                                                                                          desk at work

1/5/10                     cigarette box                                                                                                            at work

Colder days making it tough to find stuff as what little time I have I am not spending outdoors, and while I have yet to break down and pickup the ubiquitous cigarette butts that are everywhere this find was dangerously close.

1/6/10                     paint marker                                                                                                            railroad tracks

1/7/10                     pink rubber bracelet                                                                                          parking lot at Kroger’s

1/8/10                     cheeto                                                                                                                              floor at work

1/9/10                     sticky rubber toy                                                                                          desk at work

1/10/10                  plastic thing                                                                                                            sidewalk into church

1/11/10                  rock salt                                                                                                            steps from apt

1/12/10                  rubber stopper                                                                                                            by dumpster

1/13/10                  seed pod                                                                                                            outside apt

1/14/10                  rusty key ring                                                                                                            parking lot

1/15/10                  nerf dart                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

1/16/10                  wrapper                                                                                                            floor at work

1/17/10                  metal clip                                                                                                            sidewalk from church

1/18/10                  earring                                                                                                                               desk at work

1/19/10                  coffee creamer packet                                                                                          sidewalk by work

1/20/10                  piece of reflective road sign                                                                        parents driveway

1/21/10                  rusty nail clippers                                                                                          parking lot

1/22/10                  push pin                                                                                                            floor at work

1/23/10                  red ribbon                                                                                                            parking lot

1/24/10                  LGE tag                                                                                                                              outside Subway

1/25/10                  piece of evergreen                                                                                           sidewalk at home

1/26/10                  sequin butterfly                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

1/27/10                  shotgun shell                                                                                                             lake by apartment

1/28/10                  plastic flower                                                                                                            Preston Hwy

1/29/10                  plastic snowflake                                                                                          CI Symposium

1/30/10                  concert ticket                                                                                                            Calvin College sidewalk

1/31/10                  yellow lego                                                                                                            Shelby St

2/1/10                     black cracked tubing                                                                                          parking lot

2/2/10                    penguin bubble blower                                                                                          Barnes and Noble

2/3/10                    party popper                                                                                                            along side road

2/4/10                    fluorescent light terminal                                                                        Bardstown Road

2/5/10                    black coffee lid flap                                                                                          gas station

2/6/10                    gum wrapper                                                                                                            elevator

2/7/10                    back of cell phone                                                                                          parking lot

2/8/10                    gum wrapper                                                                                                            inside work building

2/9/10                    icicle                                                                                                                               off my truck

2/10/10                  bendy straw                                                                                                            Kroger parking lot

2/11/10                  cello wrapped toothpick                                                                        Wendy’s parking lot

2/12/10                  roman noodles                                                                                                            desk at work

2/13/10                  lunch list (for Subway)                                                                                          parking lot at work

2/14/10                  water bottle lid                                                                                                            parking lot at work

2/15/10                  coffee stir stick                                                                                                            parking lot at work

2/16/10                  asphalt                                                                                                                              parking lot at home

2/17/10                  washer                                                                                                                              parking lot at home

2/18/10                  ball of string                                                                                                            McDonald’s parking lot

2/19/10                  rusty hair clip                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

2/20/10                  ticket stub                                                                                                            floor at work

2/21/10                  birch bark                                                                                                            parent’s yard

2/22/10                  makeup brush                                                                                                            parking lot at work

2/23/10                  plastic thing                                                                                                            parking lot at work

2/24/10                  CD                                                                                                                              parking lot behind ACE on

2/25/10                  plastic square                                                                                                            930 Gallery

Part of a friend’s installation piece.

2/26/10                  plastic thing                                                                                                            3^rd St Bardstown

2/27/10                  key chain link                                                                                                            parking lot at work

2/28/10                  wooden piece of chair                                                                                                            by Tom’s house

3/1/10                     price tag                                                                                                            on the floor at work

3/2/10                    calendar                                                                                                            county clerk office

3/3/10                    2 unused condoms                                                                                          sidewalk by McDonald’s

3/4/10                    plastic casing of digital camera                                                                        sidewalk by work

3/5/10                    mini carbineer                                                                                                            floor at work

3/6/10                    silk rose petals                                                                                                            Ashley’s wedding

3/7/10                    tea light candle                                                                                                            Bernhiem Forest

3/8/10                    plastic ring from soda cap                                                                        parking lot at work

3/9/10                    Styrofoam square                                                                                          parking lot at work

3/10/10                  thing to keep birds off ledge                                                                        Barrett Ave

3/11/10                  pepper packet                                                                                                            floor at work

3/12/10                  mesh                                                                                                                              Construction site SCDT

3/13/10                  star wars sticker                                                                                          Kroger floor

3/14/10                  quick clamp piece                                                                                          church parking lot

3/15/10                  pen piece                                                                                                            work parking lot

3/16/10                  dental floss                                                                                                            work parking lot

3/17/10                  toe separator for polishing nails                                                                        work parking lot

3/18/10                  anchor piece for bolt                                                                                          work parking lot

3/19/10                  windshield wiper piece                                                                                          work parking lot

3/20/10                  half of a plastic Easter egg                                                                        Goodwill parking lot

3/21/10                  purple hair clip                                                                                                            church parking lot

3/22/10                  wrapper                                                                                                            stairwell at work

3/23/10                  leaf                                                                                                                              outside of front door

3/24/10                  quarter roll                                                                                                            parking lot at work

3/25/10                  seeds and a nail                                                                                                            in truck seat

3/26/10                  ball of yarn                                                                                                            hallway, Whitefield Academy

3/27/10                  lynch pin                                                                                                            parking lot at work

3/28/10                  plastic clip                                                                                                            Meijer parking lot

3/29/10                  marble tag                                                                                                            floor of office

3/30/10                  envelope label backing                                                                                          cabinet at work

3/31/10                  painted red rock                                                                                          nature trail at work

4/1/10                     matchbook                                                                                                            Mary St

4/2/10                    black plastic square                                                                                          parking lot at work

4/3/10                    candy cane                                                                                                            under desk at work

4/4/10                    electrical tape roll                                                                                          Wal Mart Parking lot

4/5/10                    sunglass clip                                                                                                            parking lot at work

I finally found real money…a twenty dollar bill behind a fence post on the edge of the parking lot as I walked and read and barely looked for objects.  I had pair 20 dollars unexpectedly towards a bill I didn’t know I would have so I was excited and thankful to God

4/6/10                    screw                                                                                                                              parking lot at work

4/7/10                    broken lighter                                                                                                            parking lot at work

4/8/10                    VIN tag                                                                                                                              Hwy 71

4/9/10                    plastic tip from adhesive tube                                                                         parking lot at work

4/10/10                  electrical cap                                                                                                            Family Restaurant parking lot

4/11/10                  half a crawfish                                                                                                            railroad tracks

4/12/10                  rusted bent piece of metal                                                                        sidewalk by work

4/13/10                  plastic hook                                                                                                            parking lot at work

4/14/10                  key fob from mechanic                                                                                          parking lot at work

4/15/10                  plastic thing on a string                                                                                          Cheyenne Church of the Hills

4/16/10                  silk rose petal                                                                                                            Cheyenne Church of the Hills

4/17/10                  plastic cocktail sword                                                                                          Chili’s O’Hare Int’l Airport

4/18/10                  helicopter seed pod                                                                                          parking lot at home

4/19/10                  pink cigar case                                                                                                            parking lot at work

4/20/10                  green beads                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

4/21/10                  car cig lighter                                                                                                            fell out of truck

4/22/10                  red brick rock                                                                                                            by sidewalk at apt

4/23/10                  scrunchie                                                                        parking lot at work

4/24/10                  old key                                                                                    Bardstown Rd

4/25/10                  piece of metal                                                                                                            Oak Ave

4/26/10                  jaw breaker                                                                                                            parking lot at work

4/27/10                  aspirin packet                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

4/28/10                  Nicorette gum                                                                                                            parking lot at work

4/29/10                  small plastic bag with screws                                                                        Bardstown

4/30/10                  sim card                                                                                                            Subway Parking lot

5/1/10                    clear glass marble                                                                                          floor at work

5/2/10                    wet red feather                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

5/3/10                    mascara                                                                                                             parking lot at work

5/4/10                    wine cork                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

5/5/10                    metal piece                                                                                                            Buzick’s parking lot

5/6/10                    plastic wheel                                                                                                            Oak Ave

5/7/10                    fuse                                                                                                                              parking lot at work

5/8/10                   ketchup packet                                                                                                            break room

5/9/10                    milkweed thistle                                                                                          church parking lot

5/10/10                  plastic bar code security thing                                                                        Kroeger

5/11/10                  weed eater thread                                                                                           parking lot at work

5/12/10                  ripped lottery ticket                                                                                          Preston highway

5/13/10                  Tweety bird without head                                                                        oral surgery parking lot

5/14/10                  plastic tube                                                                                                            parking lot by work

5/15/10                  Kentucky Derby horse and jockey                                                                        parking lot at work

5/16/10                  battery                                                                                                                              Adams St

Outside our new place we will be moving into in two weeks!!

5/17/10                  instructions                                                                                                             parking lot at apartment

5/18/10                  metal HBO keychain                                                                                          parking lot at work

5/19/10                  pencil                                                                                                                              Subway parking lot

5/20/10                  stick                                                                                                                               Ash St

5/21/10                  blue twisty tie                                                                                                            parking lot at work

5/22/10                  inhaler                                                                                                                               parking lot at work

One Year Anniversary!

5/23/10                  plastic piece in a baggie                                                                                          parking lot at Miejer

5/24/10                  mini ice scraper keychain                                                                        parking lot at work

5/25/10                  orange paw print sticker                                                                        parking lot at work

5/26/10                  black plastic lid                                                                                                            parking lot at work

5/27/10                  spray painted fireman from friend’s artwork                                                      outside new apartment

5/28/10                  black plastic thing                                                                                          parking lot at work

5/29/10                  metal cap                                                                                                            parking lot at work

5/30/10                  three dragonfly wings                                                                                          back deck

Moving day!  Moving from Shepherdsville to Louisville!

5/31/10                  puzzle piece                                                                                                            Frankfort Ave

6/1/10                    foam earphone cover                                                                                          parking lot at work

6/2/10                    red foam bendable thing                                                                        parking lot at work

6/3/10                    metal thing                                                                                                            Butchertown

6/4/10                    razor blade                                                                                                            parking lot at work

6/5/10                    Dunkin Donuts key fob                                                                                          floor at work

6/6/10                    electrical piece                                                                                                            Quincy St

6/7/10                    rusty, flat spring                                                                                          Quincy St

6/8/10                    black headband                                                                                                            outside work

6/9/10                    bent safety pin                                                                                                            parking lot at work

6/10/10                  metal mesh                                                                                                            Bardstown Rd

6/11/10                  egg from baby bird on porch                                                                        Quincy St

6/12/10                  metal strip                                                                                                            Adams St

6/13/10                  cable terminal                                                                                                            Quincy St

6/14/10                  metal  part                                                                                                            Adams St

6/15/10                  Charms Blo Pop                                                                                                            outside work

6/16/10                  empty tube of glitter                                                                                          Irish Rover parking lot

6/17/10                  nothing

Bummer, looked around all day but never picked anything up and didn’t realize it till the next morning.

6/18/10                  bolt                                                                                                                              Quincy St

6/19/10                  plastic light cover                                                                                          Adams St

6/20/10                  snail shell                                                                                                            front porch

6/21/10                  metal number from electric pole                                                                        Webster and Washington St

6/22/10                  no parking tape                                                                                                            Quincy St

6/23/10                  balloon                                                                                                                              Washington St

6/24/10                  chrysalis                                                                                                            parent’s house

6/25/10                  metal washer                                                                                                             Adams St

6/26/10                  fire cracker                                                                                                            Quincy St

6/27/10                  bubble blowing wand                                                                                          Wal Mart parking lot

6/28/10                  broken glass                                                                                                            electrical box, back porch

6/29/10                  blind                                                                                                                              Quincy St

6/30/10                  green plastic thing                                                                                          Webster St

7/1/10                     bone                                                                                                                              Quincy St

7/2/10                     note with my name on it                                                                        Quincy St

7/3/10                     Chuck E Cheese token                                                                                          parking lot at work

7/4/10                     Bendy Scarecrow                                                                                          Quincy St

7/5/10                     rice                                                                                                                              Washington St

In front of St. Joseph’s, from a wedding

7/6/10                     firework parachute                                                                                          field off of Adams St

7/7/10                     plastic thing                                                                                                             Butchertown

7/8/10                    brush                                                                                                                              Washington St

7/9/10                     clear cover                                                                                                            parking lot of work

7/10/10                  blue marble                                                                                                            Adams St

7/11/10                   wooden ice cream spoon                                                                        Washington St

7/12/10                  smoke bombs                                                                                                            Washington St

7/13/10                  match stick                                                                                                            Webster and Quincy St

7/14/10                  yellow plastic thing                                                                                          McDonald’s by work

7/15/10                  plastic battery packing                                                                                           Butchertown

7/16/10                  dead Butterfly                                                                                                            parking lot at work

7/17/10                  Drug Store Cowboy postcard                                                                        Ear-x-tacy parking lot

7/18/10                  large staple                                                                                                            Washington St

7/19/10                  broken pen cap                                                                                                             Washington St

7/20/10                  broken rubber shaped cross                                                                        outside work

7/21/10                  metal cap?                                                                                                            Washington St

7/22/10                  reflector                                                                                                            Buchertown

7/23/10                  plastic tie                                                                                                            Washington St

7/24/10                  tag                                                                                                                              Kroger parking lot

7/25/10                  propane tank cap                                                                                          Lowe’s parking lot

7/26/10                  fuzzy dice                                                                                                            garbage can, Washington St

7/27/10                  weathered King of Hearts                                                                         Quincy St

7/28/10                  piece of metal tubing                                                                                          Washington St

7/29/10                  orange toy figure                                                                                          Texas St

7/30/10                  cicada                                                                                                                              Washington St

7/31/10                  popsicle package                                                                                          Adams St

8/1/10                    rubber motorcycle clutch cover                                                                         Behind Quincy St

8/2/10                   maxi pad in package                                                                                          Adams St

8/3/10                   plastic piece                                                                                                            Adams St

8/4/10                   magnet                                                                                                                              Floor at work

8/5/10                   eye makeup applicator                                                                                           parking lot at work

8/6/10                   clearance sticker                                                                                           Wal-Mart

8/7/10                   spray paint cap                                                                                                            930 parking lot

8/8/10                   broken mirror                                                                                                            930 parking lot

8/9/10                   metal piece                                                                                                            parking lot at work

8/10/10                  Hot Wheels car                                                                                               behind Quincy St

8/11/10                  plastic plug                                                                                                        parking lot at work

8/12/10                  eyeglass cleaning cloth                                                                                  parking lot at work

8/13/10                  metal piece                                                                                                          Adams St

8/14/10                  small leaf                                                                                                            floor of Starbucks

8/15/10                  plastic ring from candy ring                                                                        Adams St

The End

I intended to finish up my exploration of the imagery of art of dying by passing out these pins I had made of a pressed flower and obituary page on these hand cut and stamped coffin shapped business cards.  The pins took far longer than expected, so here they are, ready to be launched into coffee shops and other places I frequent hopefully to be found by unsuspecting folks going about their day.

It’s a lot to ask of any creative endeavor to “make a people think” so I will send these off with a prayer to just help folks pause and possibly just be blessed by a gift. 

I have written as much as I think I will for now about the art of the dying but this site has several expressions of the imagery of fading flowers, wilting grass and flying time.  There are a couple of  bigger pieces and while I continue to be fascinated by the works of Holbien the younger and his Dance of the Dead wood cuts and other such works of art, and while I have some more ideas along the same path I am pretty excited about exploring what’s before me, “Family Curse” and expect to spend a good amount of time working on that theme, as well as some other projects in the coming months. 

I hope to revisit the art of dying themes next fall for Day of the Dead, but for now this is where I rest from this series.

Below is basically the letter I wrote for my brother in law, a great kid, still in High School who really inspired me this last week by his desire to give gifts for his family, earning and spending his own money to get gifts, real gifts, for his family, and his new brothers in law.

A little about this gift…

It is a portion of a letter tray, used for holding type, I love trying to figure out how to design and create in small spaces and it allows for there to be more than one thing being said at a time…like our lives, but we are also beyond compartmentalizing ourselves.

Left bottom 

Your initials, mine too, and I was glad to share the few letters I had to make you a gift.

The first little jar has the phrenology head you like, sorry I don’t have a spare one I can part with right now, but if I did, you would have it.  But the image is powerful to me because it is a great example of humanity’s attempts to understand ourselves, our behaviors and our souls.  It is a scientific attempt but it ultimately fails.  The jar contains withered grass and a pinch of dust; both from a graveyard, reminders of our mortality and that there is a terminal limit on searching for self knowledge.

Left top

You are one of the few people I talk with who both enjoys political discussion and also sees limits to our system the way it is.  I did a piece called “Neither Ballots NOR Bullets,” you saw it and this little piece is based upon it.  Christianity and the Bible are above politics though they have political relevance, Jesus didn’t come to setup a political system or support a political party.  The bullet I found in a parking lot and the Rockefeller campaign “pin” is from either his 1960, 64 or 68 presidential bid and it is the kind of “pin” that you would fold the back over the top of your shirt pocket to clasp it.  I had Goldwater too, but thought you’d appreciate the Rockefeller pin more; money, moderate social stances, fiscally sounds, etc.

Right bottom

Key holes to me represent mystery, we don’t know everything, nor can we…it’s not wrong to ask questions as long as you can handle not everything has an answer or more accurately we may not understand the answer. 

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”

Light bulb, because you are very bright, as in, intelligent, but the bulb also must be connected to the source to shed light to others. We are at our best when connected to the source,  and we also, despite our understanding and intelligence must also be ok being next to mystery.

Right top

Family Curse Jar

You are the first to receive or even see this piece (besides my close confidant, your sister).  I am working on a new piece that is about curses, and family curses, but it isn’t about our immediate or even distant ancestors, it is about Adam and Eve and their fall and the curse we all bear now.  It is based upon hoo doo (African American folk religion/magic)  of the mojo bags and conjure men and women)  So the jar collects symbols of the curses…cursed earth, from the graveyard, snake skin, tears/sweat from child labor and hard work, thorns and thistles from a ground no longer easy to work, a “nation bag,” used by women in Memphis to allure and dominate men, symbol of Eve’s struggle and fig leaf stamps, exiled from the garden in our nakedness…­

   

“Remember you will die” 

Like a broken record, the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastics repeats the phrase “under the sun” over and over as he contemplates the human condition.  His earthly perspective and questions and experiential basis for answering predates and anticipates the Greek philosophical tradition by almost 500 years.  Here is a man seeking to understand life below a heavenly perspective and seek what is the best way we should live…and the answer is in recognition that we will die. 

Rich, poor, wise, foolish, sinner and saint, we will all die.

Just as in Plato’s dialogues, where Socrates stated that philosophy is about preparing to die, learning how to live in light of our own mortality, the Preacher calls us to consider how we should live.

However in the midst of this grim perspective, in the context of God’s wisdom we see what our great blessing is during all the days of our lives.  Ecc 9:7-9 stands out to me, “Eat..with happiness, drink…with a cheerful heart.  God has already approved your works…Enjoy life with the woman you love all the days of your fleeting life…”

Influenced by Biblical texts such as the Book of Ecclesiastes and historical events such as the Black Plague and the 100 Years War, the people of late medival Europe were constantly facing death and remined to be prepared for it.

As with my exploration of other elements of the art of dying, this piece doesn’t offer a solution or even suggest morality is the key.  Of course it doesn’t also suggest a childish “seize the day” impulse in the face the our own mortality. I simply hoped to create pieces that would remind us that we are in fact mortal, we will die, as I think we are prone to forget or deny that ugly, lonely truth.

I started this piece in August, after finishing the Memento Mori devotion cover, and it draws on much of the same imagery and symbolism.  It was also began just as I started to look into the Art of Dying and Dance Macabre movements in Europe. It is mostly how I envisioned it but I considered many directions along the way and ultimately I am not as satisfied with it as I would have been had I finished it in September. Having created a few other pieces that I have learned from and been stretched by, this piece feels very direct, making an obvious statement, at least it feels that way to me, and because of that it isn’t as engaging to me, but I thought I would share in honesty rather than hide it away.

 

I started a yearlong assignment for myself that began on August 16, 2009. 

I was downtown getting help with my car from a friend and while waiting saw the above objects on the ground.  I collected them and it got me thinking about what I could find if I started looking more diligently. 

So I decided that weekend to set a date and begin to look for an object each day, enter it in the log below and attach it to a string where I would keep all of the objects connected.  No alteration except whatever is required to attach it to the string.  I was interested in daily discipline of looking and logging.  No apparent trend or meaning as yet just to develop a way of being and looking. I have tried to skip repetition and so far have been mostly successful, have avoided cigarette butts and my wife has made me observe a no “orifice” rule, nothing that has been in someone, no more toothbrushes, dental picks, etc.  She worries about me

So I start today with this post, my first 100 objects and to celebrate I will start carrying hand sanitizer.

Below is the list so far and some pictures of the project.

8/16/09        yellow crayon                                                                   

8/17/09        big, old bolt                                                                                       

8/18/09        gold and pearl clip on earring                                     

8/19/09        beat up feather                                                                               

8/20/09        bobby pin                                                                           

8/21/09        TY heart tag                                                                       

8/22/09        bracelet                                                                              

8/23/09        D cell battery top                                                            

8/24/09        clear tube                                                                           

8/25/09        washer of some sort                                                     

8/26/09        rusted nail                                                                          

8/27/09        blue plastic diamond shape                                        

8/28/09        penny                                                                                  

8/29/09        Ale8 1 Bottle cap                                                             

8/30/09        rusted washer                                                                               

8/31/09        Losing KY lottery ticket                                                 

9/1/09           yellow, black and white cord                                      

9/2/09           part of a rubber ball                                                       

9/3/09           rubber Palm accessory                                                 

9/4/09           leather zipper fob                                                             

9/5/09           part of lamp                                                                      

9/6/09           Copenhagen lid                                                                               

9/7/09           Plastic cap for toy gun                                                   

9/8/09           Packet of silica                                                                  

9/9/09           garden tag                                                                         

9/10/09        plastic shoe heel                                                                             

9/11/09        suction cup                                                                        

9/12/09        spool of purple thread                                                  

9/13/09        tag from Tiger blanket                                                  

9/14/09        yellow wire cap                                                                

9/15/09        plastic smiley guy with hat on                                    

9/16/09        half of a plastic mechanical pencil                            

9/17/09        lego piece for a race car                                                               

9/18/09        angel                                                                                    

9/19/09        toothbrush                                                                        

9/20/09        promotional guitar pick                                                

9/21/09        Grater’s Ice Cream Lid                                                  

9/22/09        paper clip                                                                                           

9/23/09        broken piece of Toyota logo                                      

9/24/09        child’s alphabet block                                                    

9/25/09        button                                                                                 

9/26/09        broken break light piece                                               

9/27/09        little lighter                                                                          

9/28/09        “driftwood”                                                                       

9/29/09        Ricola wrapper                                                             

9/30/09        air freshener                                                                

10/1/09        child restraint tag                                                            

10/2/09        Champagne wire basket                                              

10/3/09        .22 caliber bullet                                                                              

10/4/09        wiffle ball                                                                                           

10/5/09        rusty “V”                                                                             

10/6/09        top of tire gauge                                                             

10/7/09        broken key fob                                                                

10/8/09        tattered silk flower                                                        

10/9/09        black tube                                                                          

10/10/09      paper airplane made from receipt                           

10/11/09      birthday candle                                                                

10/12/09      drill bit                                                                                 

10/13/09      tin top of mint box                                                         

10/14/09      popcorn                                                                              

10/15/09      broken clothes pin                                                         

10/16/09      broken glasses                                                                 

10/17/09      old Christmas ornament                                                               

10/18/09      finger puppet                                                                   

10/19/09      wasp nest                                                                          

10/20/09      empty 50 ml vodka bottle                                           

10/21/09      poorly written tract                                                                                        

10/22/09      scissor handle                                                                   

10/23/09      nut                                                                                        

10/24/09      grey cap to cover screw                                                                

10/25/09      4 of Diamonds                                                                  

10/26/09      empty plastic badge holder                                        

10/27/09      lead seal                                                                             

10/28/09      old rubber band                                                              

10/29/09      old soda can tab                                                              

10/30/09      tire valve cap                                                                                    

10/31/09      broken watch band piece                                            

11/1/09        empty grape jam packet from McD’s                                     

11/2/09        plastic hanger                                                                   

11/3/09        green rubber baby bottle nipple                              

11/4/09        wall plate for light switch                                                             

11/5/09        DOTD butterfly from 21C installment                     

11/6/09        broken led light of some sort                                     

11/7/09        flat metal rod                                                                    

11/8/09        plastic mesh net                                                              

11/9/09        Burt’s beeswax lip balm tin                                         

11/10/09      plastic floral decoration piece                                    

11/11/09      metal plate of some sort                                             

11/12/09      flattened bottle cap                                                       

11/13/09      spring                                                                                   

11/14/09      cut coat hanger                                                                

11/15/09      tire weight                                                                         

11/16/09      hair tie                                                                                 

11/17/09      thorn                                                                                    

11/18/09      kernel of corn                                                                   

11/19/09      engagement ring                                                            

11/20/09      metal cover for fan of computer                              

11/21/09      spark plug box                                                              

11/22/09      grocery list                                                                         

11/23/09      checker

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field…The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

More imagery exploring the art of dying, these pressed flowers and obituaries were actually the inspiration for the giving tins. 

Visually, I have found the obituaries a striking and linear background to the organic and fragile pressed wild flowers. 

 The theme and text are taken from Isaiah

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field…The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

For this image in my exploration of  the art of dying, I wanted to focus on the flowers that fade.  Not only is it an image used in memento mori art but even traditional painted still lifes (formerly called vanitas) relate the wilting flower to the frailty of our passing glory. 

I discovered a pressed rose in an old Bible I picked up at a Goodwill store.  What could be a more striking example of the vanity of our lives? 

A forgotten rose from an unknown funeral in an unmarked Bible. 

And so the flower fades.  Our lives pass.

 

 The theme and text are taken from Isaiah. The tins consist of flowers picked from fields, old obituaries and headstones inside the tins, copied from shapes in local cemeteries.

A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 

The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Continuing my interest in the art of dying, these giving tins were developed as another contemplation of our mortality, the shortness and frailty of our lives.

The theme and text are taken from Isaiah. The tins consist of obituaries and grass from a cemetery, viewed through a headstone shaped hole. 

Again, my interest is not a teenage morbid fixation on death (well I hope not at least) but rather exploring new expressions of memento mori.