We seem to be emerging from a bizzaro time. A tiny life form attacked the mightiest life form and we crumbled—falling into pieces of quivering fear.
Dana Ellyn painted Covid, day in and day out. She dared to find humor in the communal madness. In her work, the air we breathed and the things we touched became the universal enemy. Now our fears have become scrambled—a swirling uncertainty. What do we do with our collective traumas—the stress disorders that become more disordered? Do we plead for health, survival, freedom? Connections?
Sculptor David Mordini believes we live in a Bizzaro World. He creates motion-activated “Space Babies.” “The Others.” They reach out to connect in their apparent humanness, but wrap us in “fluid anxiety.”
I don’t believe freedom is hopeless in a war with The Others. We need to use our minds as we struggle to survive. In every country. Dare we use them without permission? Are we human, or just human-appearing—subject to control by... The Others?
You may feel alone, trapped in a bubble of Edward Hopper isolation. We need to climb out of the darkness to reason and to dream. To fly.
Alexis Rockman can create any encounter. He can drift through colors, forms—natural and supernatural. You can too. Ancient genetic memories entrusted to early evolution will flash and dance. Your mind may inhabit the memories of those wonderful creatures and revel in their fears and lusts and moments of satisfaction. Just let your imagination soar.
Are gentle dreams even possible now? Can we drift with Martha Pope into the heart of a place? Art is made of vapors and visions. It cannot be murdered, but as the mighty crumble, the vapors can dissipate and drift in the minds of us silly dreamers. And that is good enough if we dream together.