At Evening Let Not Your Hands Be Idle
Who can straighten what God has made crooked?
A solitary man with no companionThis series of prints comes from my reading of Ecclesiastes. The completed set of 22 prints is intended to be a visual adaptation of the Old Testament book. The narrator of the book (Qoheleth, or "The Preacher"), having concluded that he is unable to understand the true nature and intentions of God, decides to write about what he has come to know well, the eternal truths about human nature and natural law. Most of these truths are just as valid some 2300 years later, making the ancient book very adaptable to 21st century treatment.
The titles are quotes pulled directly from various translations. Some depictions are fairly literal approaches to the original text, while some use more unusual interpretations that are still meant to be faithful to the intent of the author. I tried to capture the overall major themes as I understand them- the importance of seeking wisdom, doing good works, and enjoying good things in life when they happen, but coupled with the inevitability of sadness and death, and the fact that life often seems confusion, random, and useless. My goal was that someone who viewed the whole series of prints (or the set of 14 in the exhibition) would be left in approximately the same emotional, philosophical, and psychological state as someone who reads the book.
2 comments:
I really love how you capture the facts of everyday life, and how people misuse/abuse things God has created in such a simple concept, yet in a way I would never think of doing. When I really stop and look at these images, the unfortunate, ironic situations that do happen in life, becomes so evident, even with a little sarcasm. I also liked the coloring in the prints, I believe it was watercolor, correct? This display spoke out to me the most, and was my favorite in the exhibit.
To answer your question, I did use watercolor to color the prints. Hand coloring the individual prints takes longer, but I can get exactly what I want.
Ecclesiastes had been one of my favorite Old Testament books for a long time, and I had occasionally referenced it in earlier works. What led me to do the series was finding an adaptation from another artist (Ben Shahn) and deciding that the mostly abstract designs didn't do justice to a book that's rooted in the world we live in.
I'm glad you enjoyed the work and found something meaningful in it.
Post a Comment