A New Age Of Human
109″ x 109″ x 276″
Reclaimed underground fuel storage tank, Rust-oleum high performance metal primer, Rust-oleum high performance protective enamel gloss apple red paint, oil-based interior/exterior metal paint
2022
2022 Mid-Career Fellowship Artist
Artist Statement
The title “A New Age”, alludes to ancient civilizations’ understanding of the historical stages of human existence. From the Mayans view of “The World Ages” to the “The Ages of Man” of Greek mythology, to the Renaissance. These were fervent periods of cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” promoting the rediscovery of philosophy, literature and art. Some of the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during these eras.
These civilizations crafted these feats of genius not in some magical age, but rather a tumultuous moment, marked by historic milestones and discoveries, and also wrenching upheaval. Their worlds were tangling together in a way it had never done before, Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, Columbus’s discovery of “the New World” or Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a sea route to Asia can be viewed akin to our times’ with the internet or our exploration of the moon, Mars and the Universe.
Crisis can precipitate great change and as those geniuses flourished under these conditions, as evidenced by the artistic achievements, or by Copernicus’s revolutionary theories of a sun-centered cosmos, and by similar advances in a wide range of fields, from biology to engineering to navigation to medicine. The Earth did not stand still. The sun did not revolve around it.
I am inviting visitors to sit beneath the circular hole that frames a window to the sky and to look and wonder, are we in the middle of a new renaissance or perhaps the tail end of one? And to be in awe of all things, man and nature. To bask in the beautiful Minnesotan sky as its lighting bathes the space in changing colors, from goldenrod to turquoise, altering the viewer’s perception of the sky and perhaps our understanding of ourselves and our times.