Two very different subjects: “Sands of the Ganges” and “War”
Jan 22nd, 2008 by Brad
Hap Tivey gave an artist lecture this past Friday at Elizabeth Leach Gallery (17 NW 9th, Portland OR). Hap talked about each piece of his “Sands of the Ganges” show. “Sands of the Ganges” is based on a Sanskrit metaphor for infinity.
Hap gave an energetic uplifting lecture. His work focuses on the beauty of light and its connection in our minds with the subjective infinities. He distinguished this from the analytical infinities that we learn in mathematics. Talking about the infinities we experience when we look up at the deep blue sky. These subjective infinities are the kind referred to in the Buddhist sutras.
Hap often used examples from the Diamond Sutra and its influence on his work. The works are not one-to-one relationships with their subjects (landscape, etc.) but are move of a relation to our experience of the subject. The works use vibrant spectral colors which are not static when we perceive them, they change move and pulsate due to our shifting perception.
Below is Hap’s “Mahakala Red Again”. He mentioned that when he created in the late night and first lit it, it scared him. When he described it to his wife she suggested that it was connected to Budhism’s Mahakala, which can be a fierce protector of one and it should be scary.
Hap is very interested that his work must engage in the neutral unlit state, Mahakala is shown in this state below.
Hap mentioned that he often watching lots of surfing movies, having recently seen a really wild big wave surf video, I wished I would have had the chance to ask: “Since you like surfing and surfers at the top of their game often take of risks, which of your current works do you consider the riskiest?”. Hap, if you care to leave a comment, that would be cool!
I showed some of Hap’s light paintings in last month’s 1st Thursday openings.
After that lecture I headed over to a show with a completely different subject: WAR.
Jim Riswold curated the “War” show at Guestroom Gallery (4114 N Vancouver Ave., Portland OR). The show combined the work of eight artists. I recommend a visit.
I really enjoyed reading Riswold’s artist statement with his large photos of Hitler and Mussolini figurines. They offer interesting commentary on war and those many tiny despots who feel power from war.
An amazing photograph (and a famous one) at the show is by WWII photojournalist, Dmitri Baltermants “Grief” (1941) is simply gripping. It was taken after a huge slaugher of civilians in a Crimean city. As a wonderful counter point on the right side of this image is John Wesley’s “Panoply” prints.
At the left I show the detail of “Grief”.
It froze me in my tracks during the opening.
Personal aside: My Russian grandmother was a very young nurse in WWI, she saw the many horrors of everything dealing with war. She was a very strong 4′ 10″woman.
When I saw this image all I could hear was her cries when my mother told her that her oldest son (my uncle) had died.
My heart is very heavy thinking about the millions of crying people left in the aftermath of any war.
Susan Seubert has some powerful works including “Iraqi Extraction”, but you need to be careful about your preconceptions of these teeth removed from Iraqis. Next to this image is Susan’s 100 Cheerleaders, which you may have seen at Froelick Gallery last month.
Also at the show are two works from Eva Lake’s “Joe” series. You can see a preview of two of those images at her blog: evalake.blogspot.com/2008/01/war-at-guestroom.html
Eva Lake interiews Jim Riswold about on youtube. He talks about the exhibition as the “theater of the absurd.” Some works are very serious and others lampoon it (laughing at the bad guys, which as he says they hate more than anything).