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| Graham Burns of Ant with me (Debora Alanna) on scaffold, installing Revisioning |
Process of project development for Auricle and Revisioning or Creating a Myth
In July 2010, I received a call from Joe Clare. A colleague, painter of the Free Rain mural, James K-M had some of my sculpture in his studio, which Joe saw when visiting. This work seemed to generate the beginning of opportunity for me, and I responded to Joe’s ideas by coming to Edmonton to produce Auricle and Revisioning. Joe’s inspired idea to involve Edmonton business brought us to Durabond, where we were graciously provided with working space, technical support and material. The work took 6 weeks to complete. Graham Burns, owner of ANT, craftsman extraordinaire, provided installation expertise. Ron Snider has kindly been the project photo-journalist and Brandi Elderkin administrative and logistic support. Thank you to the muses that enabled Joe Clare’s vision. His enduring and sustained determination has provided an amazing orchestration to bridge art and business, giving possibilities a life. Thank you to the entire team, and especially, Joe Clare, for your generous spirit.
AURICLE
Clairaudience (mystical hearing) is integral to the Anahatha or heart/stillness Chakra. Through this spiritual centre, we hear the pulse of the universe.
Auricle is composed of four sculptures because four denotes earthly phenomena, grounding us to be accessible to numinous experience. As we are bound by Earth’s four cardinal points (North, South, East and West), time’s four seasons/ four lunar weeks we are also associated with four classical "elements" of fire, air, earth, and water. The association with Earth means that four symbolizes being "down-to-earth." Four is the first composite number is linked to the idea of an other-directed or "composite personality" that takes cues from diverse and often contradictory sources, leading to fiercely autonomous, "out-of-the-box" thinking. Auricle allows diverse hearing of disparate thought.
Joe Clare’s prolific community development has become another success. His vision manifests into a sculpture garden commission, where 4 carved works, Auricle, are attentive to and emanate the essence of his vision. Through Debora Alanna’s sculpture, produced at Edmonton’s Durabond facility while employing their wondrous product, Clare’s visualization enabled hearing the need for this sculptural presence to embody his perceptions, manifesting the interaction between earth-bound seekers of truth.
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| Auricle - 1 of 4 (night view) |
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| Auricle - 4 of 4 |
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Street view of Auricle - photo by Ron Snider
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| Work waiting for installation |
REVISIONING
“The subtle
essence acted on him like a charmed draught, and caused the opaque substance of his animal being to grow transparent, or, at least, translucent; so that a spiritual gleam was transmitted through it, with a clearer lustre than hitherto.”
The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorn.
Revisioning is the 7 masks/faces of discovery, sagacious explanations and penetrations into the true essence of our internal contemplation of self. The number seven, considered a sacred numeral because of the seven phases of creation (Genesis), seven plexuses or chakras or Etheric body and some versions of the Kabbalah have seven sphiroth. Seven possesses the quality of psychic awareness and has the ability to question sincerity. Through humour, these comedic masks emulate Aristotle’s Poetics: “...the comic mask is ugly and distort, but does not imply pain.” We can don a face that emulates our joyful nature, embracing the ludicrous with a numinous experience. We can revision our thinking to encourage a magical outlook.
Joe Clare conceives and generates opportunity to integrate community and business involvement with art practice. Revisioning is another of Clare’s achievements. Celebrating the power of myth – 7 masks joyfully combine our daily need for metaphor and symbol with a salute to Edmonton’s lively festivals.
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| Revisioning installed (7 masks) |
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| Installing 1st of 7 masks (Revisioning) |
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| Revisioning - 1st Mask |
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| Revisioning - 2nd Mask |
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| Revisioning - 3rd Mask |
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| Revisioning - 4th Mask |
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| Revisioning - 5th Mask |
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| Revisioning - 6th Mask |
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| Revisioning - 7th Mask |
Working at Edmonton’s Durabond facility, utilizing their exceptional product, Debora Alanna produced Revisioning. This collection of 7 masks embodies the ludicrous, the mystic purity of humour through silent stories that delight or provoke - symbols of personas. The magic of these abstracted mask-faces confront the mischief within existence, allowing consideration of life’s artfulness with humour. The colourful masks are playfully telling as the 13th Century Sufi jester, Mulla Nasruddin would tell stories to teach. Each mask is a truth told with merriment.
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