Artist Statement Example - Beth Ames Swartz
The concept of order, disorder, and reordering is central to my work. Scientists talk of order and randomness, of entropy, and of eternity's eventual end when all differences disappear. Yet, I am an optimist. I see life as an anti-entropic force for order. In my work, I constantly propose not a duality of life and death, but an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
I explore systems of knowledge by translating philosophical concepts into aesthetic visual experiences.
My paintings honor differences among cultures by utilizing symbols and words that represent concepts shared by people of widely different philosophic worldviews. I hope that, by exposing people to the beliefs of others and by showing the interconnectedness of one belief system to another, each of us may experience a common compassion.
I studied many systems of knowledge during the last forty years, both ones well known and those more esoteric; incorporating these teachings into my life and into my art is an evolving process.
I work in series, beginning a new series with an entirely different visual approach after I solve the aesthetic challenges of my then current series. I investigate the healing potential of images in all my series, often employing pilgrimage and other ritualistic acts in the creation processes. I use word and/or myth-like visual elements from many philosophic and religious systems (including Native American healing practices, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, the I-Ching, Jewish mysticism as taught in the Cabala, and the chakra system of Hinduism) in order to facilitate communication with viewers on both conscious and unconscious levels.
The "Word" in Paint
Often, I purposely "hide" words in paintings. Individual words may be seen behind the paint and, sometimes, deciphered in whole or part; however, viewers can not consciously read the entire message. One reason for hiding words, phrases and symbols behind paint is that I believe art works on the Jungian unconsciousness, conscious knowledge not being required. Viewers may recognize a message lays buried behind the paint, but that message remains unreadable in its entirety, even when examined closely. Anyone who consciously tries to "get the message" will not. Yet, in this striving, I believe viewers will succeed unconsciously . . . one of the many mysteries of life and art.
I first inserted a literal "word" into my art in 1993 in a series entitled A Verse for the Eleventh Hour (1993) employing the poem The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats. A related series, A Story for the Eleventh Hour (1993), includes words and symbols within the paintings and, importantly, references to the poetry of T. S. Eliot, particularly Burnt Norton (one of The Four Quartets) and The Waste Land.
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