Prismatic Textiles
Prismatic Textile no. 1
This is the painting that began the whole series. When I started this one, I was exploring an idea for using a geometric structure as a container for the energetic qualities of brush strokes, color, texture, shading, and other abstract qualities. I started to see the structure as a sort of window, map, or interface into an inner world. This lead to new ideas for creating similar paintings with layers of symbols, imagery, and possible interpretations.
Prismatic Textile no. 2: The Language Sandbox
With the second Prismatic Textile painting, I started exploring more imagery and expanding the abstract explorations into more substantive visions. There was a strong use of architectural forms, and other elements which were inspired by history. The theme of this painting seems to be a dreamlike perspective on long expanses of time, showing the development of human culture and technology. Like Prismatic Textile no. 1, you still get the feeling of looking through some sort of window, map, or interface, but the perspective is becoming more elaborate with more stories to explore.
Prismatic Textile no. 3: Triangulation
There are many ways to interpret Prismatic Textile no. 3. I think this piece really focuses on the interface and technology aspect of the Prismatic Textiles series. One can find a collection of keyboard and synthesizer type musical instruments, with glowing wires and interconnected panels. There is a darker side of this piece too, with the translucent human skull connected to a swirling spiral reflecting on the flow of electronic communication networks. I think I was reflecting on two different sides of technology (and nature) with this painting.
Prismatic Textile no. 4: Pyramid
This painting brings the series back to the basic structure and explorative abstract qualities in the first painting. I had explored the exciting world of complexity, novelty, and intricate webs of competing perspectives with Prismatic Textile no. 3. This exploration made me reflect on how complexities in organic systems and competing incentives can sometimes lead to sickness, and unforeseen consequences. There is a desire to go back to a simpler mode and reset, that everyone feels at one time or another. These little resets can happen at various scales: a short break from a challenging task… Or a long vacation… Or a total collapse that leads to total systematic restructuring. Pyramid means ‘fire within’, and sometimes this inner fire can be a process which leads to new spaces, and ultimately new ideas.
Prismatic Textile no. 5: Bridges and Tunnels
Bridges and Tunnels is a painting that emerges from the simple, wide open space of the previous Prismatic Textile painting with a new and intricate vision. This vision contains mechanical and architectural elements embedded in a rich geometric structure. The visions explore ideas of time and motion, and a philosophical look into the concept of duality.
Prismatic Textile no. 6: Drawing at the Well
Drawing at the well builds even further on the complexity and overlapping perspectives of Bridges and Tunnels. While I was working on this piece, I was exploring patterns of fluid dynamics and was deeply inspired by the mesmerizing complexity of turbulent flow. I’m not a physicist, or engineer, or mathematician, but I approached this subject from the viewpoint of an artist. I tried to capture the feeling and essence of turbulent flow, and the motion of fluid systems. Like other Prismatic Textile paintings, I also included mechanical, architectural, and symbolic elements. The painting is unified with the theme of looking deep into history, and the depths of the human mind for inspiration and answers.
Prismatic Textile no. 7: The Shadow of a Reflection
This painting was a point of completion and reflection. I had been exploring the idea of the Prismatic Textiles series as a 7 part journey reflecting on some sort of universal structure present in human social systems, religions, and stories. I was looking at ways in which the 7 paintings in the series could map onto the creative process and big ideas encoded in ancient pervasive mythology that has followed humans through countless generations and iterations. The Shadow of a Reflection is a sort of meta-perspective, looking back at all the previous perspectives explored in the series. The main view is a fractured perspective of a hallway as a gallery, with various paintings seeming to melt and flow out from their frames. Small versions of the previous 6 Prismatic Textile paintings are integrated into the composition.