The feeling is less like an ending than just another starting point.
–-Chuck Palahniuk, Choke: A Novel
Well, the show comes down at the end of the day. I am talking about my solo show Guiding Light which hangs at the West End Gallery. Many, many thanks to all who made their way in to see the show or who attended the opening or Gallery Talk. And many thanks to Jesse and Linda Gardner for allowing me to show my work at this wonderful gallery as well as for the tremendous amount of work they put in and the warmth which they have extended to me over the past 30 years.
There’s always a bit of sadness in seeing a show come down. What was once assembled as a unified entity dissolves into individual components that will attempt to stand on their own, to establish their own identity.
As I pointed out in an earlier post, it’s like the band or chorus is breaking up. What were once band or chorus members whose playing and singing supported and harmonized with the others around them are now soloists.
That’s sad in a way. It’s an ending, after all, and as much as we love a happy ending, endings are often sad. But there is also the exhilaration of being out apart from the other to consider.
A new start. A new chance to stand apart and let your own light shine.
And that might well be how much of my work might be construed. The Red Tree in my work often stands apart. It is not overshadowed or lost among the many other trees in the forest. It clearly exhibits both its strength and its vulnerability.
It is free to be all it wishes to be. All it should be.
The ultimate freedom.
So, while I am sad to see the show end, I am eager to see how the remaining work makes its way into the world.
And to clearly see their strength and hear their singular voices.
As noted above, Guiding Light ends at the end of the day. There’s still a chance to get in to hear the chorus.
Here’s a classic from Joe Cocker, his cover of the Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends. It just seems right this morning. This his iconic Woodstock performance. The backup singers were trapped in the traffic jam heading to the festival so his band members had to take up the slack. With a little help from his friends, Cocker’s performance carries the day.
I hope my soloists carry this kind of passion with them…
Redtree Times 