Between the Sea and the Sun— Now at West End Gallery
Grandfather, Great Spirit, you have been always, and before you no one has been. There is no other one to pray to but you. You yourself, everything that you see, everything has been made by you. The star nations all over the universe you have finished. The four quarters of the earth you have finished. The day, and in that day, everything you have finished. Grandfather, Great Spirit, lean close to the earth that you may hear the voice I send. You towards where the sun goes down, behold me; Thunder Beings, behold me! You where the White Giant lives in power, behold me! You where the sun shines continually, whence come the day-break star and the day, behold me! You where the summer lives, behold me! You in the depths of the heavens, an eagle of power, behold! And you, Mother Earth, the only Mother, you who have shown mercy to your children!
Hear me, four quarters of the world–a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is! Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds.
Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet.
This is my prayer; hear me! The voice I have sent is weak, yet with earnestness I have sent it. Hear me!
–Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks, The Offering of the Pipe
I was looking for something to begin this post on this new painting, Between the Sea and the Sun, which is part of my show of new work that opens Friday at the West End Gallery. when I came across the words above. I had featured a passage from Black Elk in a post a few months ago, describing him then as “the Oglala Lakota medicine man who died in 1950 after a most interesting life that saw him taking part in some of the important events in the history of the Native American people. As a youth, Black Elk fought at Little Big Horn then later survived the Indian Wars that took place in the aftermath of Little Big Horn as well as the Wounded Knee Massacre, in which he was wounded. He also performed with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, traveling to Europe to perform for Queen Victoria. After his time with Buffalo Bill, he later converted to Roman Catholicism though he still embraced his Native American beliefs and the visions that made him a medicine man. He was able to rectify the seeming differences between the two in such a way that a case for his beatification (sainthood) has been opened by the Catholic Church in recent years.“
This passage was from the beginning of the book Black Elk Speaks when he offers a sacrificial offering in the form of a pipe to the Spirit of the World before starting to tell the narrative of his life. He does this so that his words shall truthfully describe his life.
In reading it, I began to see that this painting represented a form of invocation or prayer for me. We live our lives in this vast yet tiny space between the great waters of the world and the immensity of the heavens above. We often feel that it is not enough. We long for more than this world offers us. However, if we could tamp down our impetuous desires for more and more, we would see that the world is as it should be.
It has given us all we will ever need. This narrow strip of soil, of life, trapped between the sea and the sun is perhaps the only heaven we will ever know. Or need, for that matter. It is of us and we are of it.
Yet we often don’t view it that way. We often act like ungrateful, selfish children who don’t see all that Mother Earth– Mother Earth, the only Mother, you who have shown mercy to your children— has provided for us.
Hear me, four quarters of the world–a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is! —I can see these words from Black Elk in this painting. I see it now as an invocation not unlike that of Black Elk’s.
And I like it that way…
Between the Sea and the Sun is 40″ by 30″ on canvas and is part of my annual solo exhibit, Persistent Rhythm, now hanging at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY. The exhibit officially opens this coming Friday, July 19, with an opening reception that runs from 5-7 PM.
As I noted yesterday, a Gallery Talk for this show will take place at the gallery on Saturday, August 10, from 11- noon. As has been the case in the past, the talk will include serious questions and sometimes serious answers along with some laughs, some surprises, and some goodies. Maybe a painting is awarded to some lucky person? Who knows? Stay tuned…
Redtree Times 