Catherine V Graham

Nyack Arts Walk 2018

So this is my concept for the theme of “A penny for your thoughts”.

A person appears disengaged and you wish him or her to rejoin the conversation. The conversation is an existential one about the crisis of money versus environmental conservation.  The big question being:

“If water equals life,

How much does life cost?”

Questions of social privilege arise.

How much do we value water, how many pennies? What quality water can you afford? Fuji, Evian, or Poland Spring, or tap?  Should we wash our hands and flush our toilets with the same water which nourishes our bodies?”

And ultimately, is money the only way we place value on things, even things vital and essential to life itself? 

My artwork will be based upon the drawings attached, of water molecule structures, with pennies taking place of Oxygen.

“Iris” has four significances: the Greek goddess, the eye, the flower, and the camera lens.

In Greek mythology, Iris was the personification of the rainbow and a messenger for the gods (along with Hermes). Iris was the daughter of the sea god Thaumus, and the sky goddess Electra.

Iris: noun

1. a flat, colored, ring-shaped membrane behind the cornea of the eye, with an adjustable circular opening (pupil) in the center.

2. a plant with sword-shaped leaves and showy flowers, typically purple, yellow, or white. Native to both Eurasia and North America, it is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

verb

1. (of an aperture, typically that of a lens) open or close in the manner of an iris or iris diaphragm.

The lines in the drawing for “Iris” are based upon the gravitational forces within black hole theory. While drawing the form I found the symbol for infinity, a concept which embodies the same ideas of black hole theory, of positive/negative space, of the duality of life/death, of the reuse of energy.

Linoleum print, Polymer resin, and oil on birch, 13 x 21 inches

Natural Sequence printed in black ink on gold wood board with painted universal constellation of geometric forms revealing and disappearing in space.  

Universal constellation of geometrical sequence with geometric forms revealing and disappearing in spatial compass color code.  

These two paintings, Glacier (Ascend), and Glacier (Descend) are the result of my exploration of the intersection between sacred iconography and science.  If people treated science and nature with the same reverence as religion, perhaps two apparently dichotomous sensibilities would be ameliorated; and then humanity could face major issues such as climate change with solid purpose.  These works are also an exploration of the sublime beauty of nature and science and the tragedy of the human condition.

Forms in secondary colors moving over city grids.  36 x 36", polymer, linoleum print, oil paint, paint marker on canvas