Artist Statement: Benjamin J. Weisman: 2006buckyben1@yahoo.com/buckyben1@buckyben.com
Myrecent work has delved further in the direction of cultural and
symbolic meaning. My fascination and continued study of human evolution
and early human cultural and cosmological creation continue to
influence my art work. The roll of iconography and mixing media to
convey a message is becoming an integral aspect of my artistic process
and representations.
Much of my earlier work into sound and
video explored aspects of mediation with Judaica and Buddhist influence
(1). A resurgent interest in Jewish melodies and their influence on
memory led to the creation of the website, The Judaica Project.
Produced with the intention of being an ongoing cultural heritage
project, it couples the desire to preserve the melodies sung by a
generation on the cusp of passing as they age. This documentary website
is meant to share a perspective of a time period, and to preserve these
melodies for future generations. This piece integrates the mediums of
painting, hand drawn written text, sound and motion graphics.
The influence of religious symbolism is becoming more consistent as a force
in my art work, but so is the desire to share the current state of the
environment. I fear that the natural environment may soon change before
my eyes as my generation ages, with more people proliferating and
taxing our world’s eco-systems to their limits. This lead me to produce
the website Preserve (2), and to the development of the video piece,
Modern Landscape. This video piece takes the viewer on a journey across
3 locations: New York City, Jasper Canada, and Sarasota Florida. As the
video journey progresses, digital still effects arise, that serve as
snap shots of sorts that resolve at the climax. There is a structural
composition to the piece that is also strung together conceptually in
groupings of the relationships and with short poetic phrases exploring
the intricacies of the relationships. Modern environments, like NYC,
are a combination of natural ecosystems and man made environments. I
explore similarities that exist between the natural and man made
environments, integrating drawing, digital imaging, video and sound
compositions.
I have a strong interest in human evolution and supposing the
symbolic meaning. My fascination and continued study of human evolution
and early human cultural and cosmological creation continue to
influence my art work. The roll of iconography and mixing media to
convey a message is becoming an integral aspect of my artistic process
and representations.
Much of my earlier work into sound and
video explored aspects of mediation with Judaica and Buddhist influence
(1). A resurgent interest in Jewish melodies and their influence on
memory led to the creation of the website, The Judaica Project.
Produced with the intention of being an ongoing cultural heritage
project, it couples the desire to preserve the melodies sung by a
generation on the cusp of passing as they age. This documentary website
is meant to share a perspective of a time period, and to preserve these
melodies for future generations. This piece integrates the mediums of
painting, hand drawn written text, sound and motion graphics.
The influence of religious symbolism is becoming more consistent as a force
in my art work, but so is the desire to share the current state of the
environment. I fear that the natural environment may soon change before
my eyes as my generation ages, with more people proliferating and
taxing our world’s eco-systems to their limits. This lead me to produce
the website Preserve (2), and to the development of the video piece,
Modern Landscape. This video piece takes the viewer on a journey across
3 locations: New York City, Jasper Canada, and Sarasota Florida. As the
video journey progresses, digital still effects arise, that serve as
snap shots of sorts that resolve at the climax. There is a structural
composition to the piece that is also strung together conceptually in
groupings of the relationships and with short poetic phrases exploring
the intricacies of the relationships. Modern environments, like NYC,
are a combination of natural ecosystems and man made environments. I
explore similarities that exist between the natural and man made
environments, integrating drawing, digital imaging, video and sound
compositions.
I have a strong interest in human evolution and supposing the
path that mankind has taken and continues to take as we
evolve culturally and physically. As I have been artistically exploring
the relationship of cosmology and religious experience with cultural
and physical evolution for my thesis project, a meshing has occurred
that is being expressed in my artwork. The piece Internal Cosmology is
has manifested a 6 armed figure, inspired by Buddhist imagery and my
personal challenge of exploring mankind’s recent lineage paths, is in a
way a representation of myself as I explore the lineages of mankind.
The integration of the natural world with man made urban landscapes is part
of the path we as a species are evolving into culturally. The piece
integrates video and 3D elements to create a relationship between
reality and an altered state of reality, perhaps running parallel with
each other, that is accessed visually through the eye of the meditator.
The moving background shapes are also pieces of our existence, as the
skulls are. The holding of the skulls represent pathways from our
lineage to the present. This 6 armed figure is spiritual in nature, but
is also a symbol of a flow chart, a connector of all these lineages of
mankind.
The interior of the room holds other symbols that
build further upon these relationships. A partial glass skull sits on
the table top symbolizing failed paths of mankind’s lineages. Several
tools and bones sit on the table top symbolizing different
technological stages these lineages would have known. The window is a
gateway between the modern world and the natural world, and is in turn
also symbolic of a window to the world, a looking out from within
ourselves.
(1) www.buckyben.com/jews_and_gentiles(2) www.buckyben.com/preserve
the relationship of cosmology and religious experience with cultural
and physical evolution for my thesis project, a meshing has occurred
that is being expressed in my artwork. The piece Internal Cosmology is
has manifested a 6 armed figure, inspired by Buddhist imagery and my
personal challenge of exploring mankind’s recent lineage paths, is in a
way a representation of myself as I explore the lineages of mankind.
The integration of the natural world with man made urban landscapes is part
of the path we as a species are evolving into culturally. The piece
integrates video and 3D elements to create a relationship between
reality and an altered state of reality, perhaps running parallel with
each other, that is accessed visually through the eye of the meditator.
The moving background shapes are also pieces of our existence, as the
skulls are. The holding of the skulls represent pathways from our
lineage to the present. This 6 armed figure is spiritual in nature, but
is also a symbol of a flow chart, a connector of all these lineages of
mankind.
The interior of the room holds other symbols that
build further upon these relationships. A partial glass skull sits on
the table top symbolizing failed paths of mankind’s lineages. Several
tools and bones sit on the table top symbolizing different
technological stages these lineages would have known. The window is a
gateway between the modern world and the natural world, and is in turn
also symbolic of a window to the world, a looking out from within
ourselves.
(1) www.buckyben.com/jews_and_gentiles(2) www.buckyben.com/preserve
I have made further enhancements to Modern Landscape yet
again. I have pushed the graphical treatment further and added a map
structure as sections. Words have been added as poetic tools and
sections of themes are clearly grouped. This word grouping is utilized
as a compositional fram work:
Modern Landscape in quicktime format >>Best viewed with Mozilla on a MAC and IE and Mozilla on a PC, may download to yuor harddrive on a PC- files size=25megs
conception - Bereshit -Seeded spring separates sight.Cycles spread smilesGrease lenses revealsParticipating in cycles.
transport
again. I have pushed the graphical treatment further and added a map
structure as sections. Words have been added as poetic tools and
sections of themes are clearly grouped. This word grouping is utilized
as a compositional fram work:
Modern Landscape in quicktime format >>Best viewed with Mozilla on a MAC and IE and Mozilla on a PC, may download to yuor harddrive on a PC- files size=25megs
conception - Bereshit -Seeded spring separates sight.Cycles spread smilesGrease lenses revealsParticipating in cycles.
transport
Infrastructure holds network node terminals.
progressive
Carving tight lines.
Carving the land, shiny as sand.
Surface runoff flows over the land surface,
causing erosion of the earth’s surface.
Panic
Limited time, delight gone by.
Limited time, delight gone blind.
The annual yield from fisheries worldwide is about 100 million tones.
Mythic
Reversed rolls holds sensitive conception.
Males become pregnant with a dorsal fin located on the lower body and pectoral fins located on the head near their gills.
Kinetic
Valued vibratation textures.
Valued and praised, mixed up like glaze.
Destined for use in traditional medicine.
/*
Levitate
Inspiration
Inspiration a tasty delight.
Inspiration to flight is a dining delight.
There are about 8,800–10,200 living bird species and are an important food source for Humans.
*/
Metamorphosis
Patience and Perseverance reap benefits.
One form leads to another.
Symbiotic
Living as intimate association.
merging and growing.
Procreation
Divisions join fractures.
A division of cells
wheels.
Artificial
Dark clouds shine brightly.
Tastes can be heard.
Byproduct is inhaled. By standard is the air.
Survival
Found goods spell opportunity.
consumption
Resources used fertilizes mystery.
Subsistence
Delicious memories spoil taste.
Tender memories pass.
Land produces to feed it’s tenders.
Land produces enough to feed the family working it.
This article highlights how he current administration is suppresssing
climate change reports and data, and changing data to fit their needs-
nice job, keep us uniformed and we won’t care that our kids will live
in a world much warmer than we do, maybe with lots more water, and
flooding and, well, u get itt:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/
climate change reports and data, and changing data to fit their needs-
nice job, keep us uniformed and we won’t care that our kids will live
in a world much warmer than we do, maybe with lots more water, and
flooding and, well, u get itt:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/
I had been struggling with a focus, and am refining things. I keep going
back to- How did mankind come to understand the world, what role did
religion and language play, were they ways of understanding life, or
simply a means to an end in assisting food gathering, and
socialization, was that related to food gathering too? Also
reproducing. The connections are vast but here are some thoughts:
Once there was an ice age and the world was a wondrous place with a
diversity of life. The earth was a different place than today. With
more land exposed in some areas and much of the north and south were
covered in ice. It was at this time that our early ancestors began to
inhabit the earth. Around 700,000-200,000 years ago anatomically modern
man moved onto the earth. We inhabited that world with other Hominids,
similar to ourselves. Today we are the main survivor, with only a few
other living Hominids and Apes, like chimpanzees, Bonobos, Gorillas,
and Gibbons.
We number in the billions today, but for much of
our existence, we numbered far lower – closer t only a few hundred
thousand or maybe 2 million. We most likely lived in small groups of
people called Bands, that traveled over wide ranges of land. Yet we
were far more similar to ourselves today than we might think. People
were social animals then, and spoke language. People had learned
culture and were passing on knowledge to there successive generations.
I am interested in exploring the ways that mankind and our lineage have
tried to understand the world we inhabit, with explanations from
religion and science, language and culture; all inform mans conception
of existence.
——-notes———–Language and mundane objects can be used as tools to relate to what
sets people apart from other animals. Math, music, language – travel
with a figure trough time and lineage – using a mandalla as a model of
movement- language and info pushed out from behind the figure who is
changing and presenting objects and information – looking at the
relationship to religion and social organization and it’s relationship
to cultural and physical evolution – to religion was a way to explain
and try to understand existence and why people were understanding the
world and life different than other animals they shared life with – Why
am I drawn to religion as a way of evolving – is it an existential
evolution of understanding – I need to focus on the earlier state of
living as an environment and then move the experience to the next stage
– referencing the idea of culture that may have existed with that
lineage ( much in the scool of thought of Lewis, not binsford.)
–attempting to put the user into the experience of perceptiojn as the
lineage perceived life, but also how the conception of the world
unfolds – discuss the learning process –A mandalla as a user interface??– How do you move through time and space?
Importance of symbolism/language/physical evolution/cultural evolution/perception & understanding
—————————–
I am also working on the thesis proposal but it is not ready to share yet-
back to- How did mankind come to understand the world, what role did
religion and language play, were they ways of understanding life, or
simply a means to an end in assisting food gathering, and
socialization, was that related to food gathering too? Also
reproducing. The connections are vast but here are some thoughts:
Once there was an ice age and the world was a wondrous place with a
diversity of life. The earth was a different place than today. With
more land exposed in some areas and much of the north and south were
covered in ice. It was at this time that our early ancestors began to
inhabit the earth. Around 700,000-200,000 years ago anatomically modern
man moved onto the earth. We inhabited that world with other Hominids,
similar to ourselves. Today we are the main survivor, with only a few
other living Hominids and Apes, like chimpanzees, Bonobos, Gorillas,
and Gibbons.
We number in the billions today, but for much of
our existence, we numbered far lower – closer t only a few hundred
thousand or maybe 2 million. We most likely lived in small groups of
people called Bands, that traveled over wide ranges of land. Yet we
were far more similar to ourselves today than we might think. People
were social animals then, and spoke language. People had learned
culture and were passing on knowledge to there successive generations.
I am interested in exploring the ways that mankind and our lineage have
tried to understand the world we inhabit, with explanations from
religion and science, language and culture; all inform mans conception
of existence.
——-notes———–Language and mundane objects can be used as tools to relate to what
sets people apart from other animals. Math, music, language – travel
with a figure trough time and lineage – using a mandalla as a model of
movement- language and info pushed out from behind the figure who is
changing and presenting objects and information – looking at the
relationship to religion and social organization and it’s relationship
to cultural and physical evolution – to religion was a way to explain
and try to understand existence and why people were understanding the
world and life different than other animals they shared life with – Why
am I drawn to religion as a way of evolving – is it an existential
evolution of understanding – I need to focus on the earlier state of
living as an environment and then move the experience to the next stage
– referencing the idea of culture that may have existed with that
lineage ( much in the scool of thought of Lewis, not binsford.)
–attempting to put the user into the experience of perceptiojn as the
lineage perceived life, but also how the conception of the world
unfolds – discuss the learning process –A mandalla as a user interface??– How do you move through time and space?
Importance of symbolism/language/physical evolution/cultural evolution/perception & understanding
—————————–
I am also working on the thesis proposal but it is not ready to share yet-
How
can people say there is no global warming? When it is convenient to
advance their agendas and opinions, when they think it won’t happen
while they are living. But, looks like alot of people living today will
soon see the results in the form of rising se levels, yikes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4834806.stm
can people say there is no global warming? When it is convenient to
advance their agendas and opinions, when they think it won’t happen
while they are living. But, looks like alot of people living today will
soon see the results in the form of rising se levels, yikes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4834806.stm
[…] Positive news about the earth? Or not? Bloged in issues by Administrator Wednesday May 11, 2005 It is great to discover new species of life, as this article states. But what about preserving what we have discovered? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_.....534871.stm Trackback · No comments yet […]
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