Senior Exhibition 2014 Gallery
Preview
Creation Date
2014
Description
Materials: Digital Inkjet Print
Dimensions: 13"x19"
Project Advisor: Benjamin D. Rinehart
Year of Graduation: 2014
Medium
Printmaking
Rights
Copyright for this work is held by the artist.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Biology, Tree of life, organisms, evolution, acceptance, scope, perspective, burden
Artist Statement
Despite its vast complexity, humans love to try to define the world in terms of binary opposites. An observation is either subjective or objective; creativity is not structured; science is not spiritual. In order for something to have both opposing qualities– to lie somewhere on a gradient– one quality must make room for the other. Nothing infinitely important can be equally infinitely unimportant. Of course we may say these things depend on relative viewpoint or opinion, but why can they not coexist in the same frame of reference?
As a kid, I loved to draw the things I found in my back yard, and I adored science textbooks and field guides. Biology introduced me to art, and vice-versa. It was under a birch tree listening to a chickadee that I first gained a sense of my place in the world. Feeling so infinitely unimportant was freeing, but I had yet to find purpose. Then, when I was 14, I bought an old school book containing the story of The Flax, which made everything suddenly seem infinitely important. Both seemed true, and finding peace between the two required only that I change and expand my perception of things.
The Song is Never Done is meant to reflect the settling of conflict between dualities. The space I have created (or re-created) is at once spiritual and neutral. The scientific imagery of Faith and Reason is reminiscent of stained glass, while philosophic notions are paired with objective evidence and literary quotes in my books. I want these things to exist and be experienced by others in the same space, without barriers or contradiction. The stage is set for exploration, relaxation, and reflection; to provide a catharsis. Let it bring the song full-circle; it is never done.