Entwined in Time— At the West End Gallery
Then only in the empty spaces,
Death, walking very silently,
Shall fear the glory of our faces
Through all the dark infinity.
So, clothed about with perfect love,
The eternal end shall find us one,
Alone above the Night, above
The dust of the dead gods, alone.
—Rupert Brooke, The Call
The new painting at the top is another in the Baucis & Philemon series that I have documented here many times over the years. They feature intertwined trees that represent the poor elderly couple from Greek mythology that won the favor of Zeus. In return for their warmth and hospitality when he had been spurned by all their fellow townspeople, Zeus granted their wish that they should be together through eternity by transforming them at their deaths into two trees on a hillside that would forever be as one.
This particular interpretation of this theme is called Entwined in Time. I chose to pair it with the last two stanzas of a poem from Rupert Brooke titled The Call. Brooke was a young British poet who died, at age 27, in World War I.
As a result, though he only wrote a handful of poems having to do with the war, Brooke has always been considered one of the British War Poets. Even in the video below for The Call, which was written long before the war in the years between 1905 and 1908, it is depicted as being about a solider at war. There is another video version of this poem that is totally based on war imagery.
But I read the poem as being solely about the attraction– the call– of another that leads to a form of enduring love. Perhaps even an eternal one that lasts beyond the time of man and gods.
You may see this painting in a different light. Again, that is as it should be. I don’t expect that people will see the same things in my work or interpret them in the same way. Actually, I am often heartened when hearing a different take on a piece because that means that it struck a deep enough chord that this other person took time to ponder over their reaction.
And as an artist, that is all I can ask.
Entwined in Time is a 20″by 10″ painting on aluminum panel that is included in this year’s edition of my annual solo exhibit, Chaos & Light at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY. The show opens tomorrow, Friday, July 22, and there is an opening reception that runs from 5-7 PM. Harpist Meredith Bocek will be performing in the Upstairs Gallery.
I will be in attendance and will be wearing my mask since I am cautious and also anticipate speaking with quite a few folks. However, the gallery is not requiring that you wear a mask. That is left to your own determination based on your personal preference, comfort, and risk levels.
Hope to see you there.
Redtree Times 