Twenty-One Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God
FIELDS:Drawing , Fine Arts, Philosophy
Description
Ink and gouache on twenty-one, 16” x 20” sheets of handmade Himalayan Daphne paper.
Both in creating and in viewing them, these pages investigate the possibilities of breaking down the dichotomy between oneself and the other by compelling the viewer to “read” the visual language intuitively. This helps to promote an inner dialogue between a viewer and the work. In this manner, the mind is more likely to move naturally toward the unfolding present, where one’s preconceptions, biases, and mental/emotional baggage cannot cloud the experience.
The title figuratively describes the process of dissolving ideas of an anthropomorphic God. For me, this process has been an ongoing transformation in my career as an artist. However, even though the texts in these works are from scriptures and literature of the world’s religious traditions, the work is not about the pages, as if they have some sort of literal or mystical meaning. Rather, the creation of the pages is a process of exploring relationships that are not visible, not directly translated into words or meaning.
Both in creating and in viewing them, these pages investigate the possibilities of breaking down the dichotomy between oneself and the other by compelling the viewer to “read” the visual language intuitively. This helps to promote an inner dialogue between a viewer and the work. In this manner, the mind is more likely to move naturally toward the unfolding present, where one’s preconceptions, biases, and mental/emotional baggage cannot cloud the experience.
The title figuratively describes the process of dissolving ideas of an anthropomorphic God. For me, this process has been an ongoing transformation in my career as an artist. However, even though the texts in these works are from scriptures and literature of the world’s religious traditions, the work is not about the pages, as if they have some sort of literal or mystical meaning. Rather, the creation of the pages is a process of exploring relationships that are not visible, not directly translated into words or meaning.
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- Twenty-One Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God
- Inkand gouache on twenty-one, 16” x 20” sheets of handmade Himalayan Daphne paper.
Both in creatingand in viewing them, these pages investigate the possibilities of breaking downthe dichotomy between oneself and the other by compelling the viewer to “read”the visual language intuitively. Thishelps to promote an inner dialogue between a viewer and the work. In this manner, the mind is more likely tomove naturally toward the unfolding present, where one’s preconceptions,biases, and mental/emotional baggage cannot cloud the experience.
The titlefiguratively describes the process of dissolving ideas of an anthropomorphicGod. For me, this process has been an ongoingtransformation in my career as an artist. However, even though the texts in these works are from scriptures andliterature of the world’s religious traditions, the work is not about the pages,as if they have some sort of literal or mystical meaning. Rather, the creation of the pages is aprocess of exploring relationships that are not visible, not directlytranslated into words or meaning. 
Page One: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The text is from one of the many formulas currently being worked on to explain "unified field theory."
Page Two: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The background text is a verse from the Bhagavad Gita that explains the gaining of enlightenment through the use of meditation yoga. The image is based on some drawings I did in Kathmandu Valley in the village of Bhaktipur where there are several Hindu temples like this.
Page Three: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The background text are the Fibonacci series. The image is of Sakya Monastery in Central Tibet where I've made numerous trips to make location drawings.
Page Four: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The text is Aramaic from the gospel of St. Matthew.
Page Five: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The text is from the Bhagavad Gita. The image is based on an experience I had at Tengboche Monastery, on a ridge above the monastery where the monks performed a ceremony paying tribute to "emptiness."- Page Six: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The background text is from the Pulitzer Prize winning choral composition by John Adams entitled, "Transmigration of Souls." It was written as a tribute to those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks. The page I chose to use for this piece has the voices singing and repeating the word, "light."
- Page Eight: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. Ink and gouache on handmade Himalayan Daphne paper. The text is the first verse from the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu.
- Page Nine: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. The image is from sketches I made in the Louvre, Paris, of the sculpture entitled, "The Tomb of Phillipe Pot."
- Page Ten: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. The text is from the first verse of the ancient Vedas and speaks about the creation of the universe.
- Page Eleven: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. The text is transliterated Sanskrit and basically means, "not here, not there, not anywhere your rational mind can conceive." The image is based on my experiences in Varanasi, India on the Ganges River.
- Page Twelve: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. The text is from the writings of Chaungs Tzu, on of Lao Tzu's contemporary's. The image is based on the Tibetan Buddhist concept regarding the gaining of spiritual merit.
- Page Thirteen: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. The text is an ancient Aramaic from the first verse of Genesis from the Christian bible.
- Page Fourteen: Pages from the Manual on Dismantling God. The text is German from the last chapter of the Herman Hesse book, "Siddhartha," where Siddhartha has the final conversation with Govinda.
- The pages will be hung in a circle using clear fishing line. The viewer will enter into the circle to view the pages. There will be no explanation of what the texts and images represent which will allow, to some extent, the viewer to project their own meaning onto the pages. In this way, what ever meaning the viewer projects onto the work, will have more to do with themselves than with the pages. It is an effort to break down the dichotomy that we create between the ourselves (the viewers) and the thing being viewed.
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