Redtree Times

On the Fringe– At the West End Gallery

Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.

― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Just doing another grouping of image, words, and music that are somewhat connected in theme or thought.

Well, at least, in how I view them.

The painting at the top is called On the Fringe, featuring three crows in a bare tree. Crows live in close proximity to us, always near and visible yet keeping their distance. There is something mysterious in their silent observation of us and when they do break that silence, one wonders if there is some bit of wisdom that they are attempting to pass on to us.

Crows, as I have indicated here in the past, are symbols of wisdom. In the book Kafka on the Shore from Haruki Murakami, uses crows in just this way, as symbolic  messengers of protection, advice, and warning to the stories young protagonist, who calls himself Kafka, after the famed Czech author. The name Kafka translates as crow in the Czech language.

For the third part of this grouping, I have selected a piece from Philip Glass’ Heroes Symphony, done in collaboration with Brian Eno and David Bowie, based on Bowie’s album, Heroes. The music here is based on the song Sons of the Silent Age.

It definitely has a crow feel, at least in the way I see crows. Silence , thought, and movement. I think it’s a pretty good trio to kick off a frigid Saturday morning here in this corner of the great big world.