No Limits
Artwork sent to John Glenn - American Astronaut at Kennedy Space Station. NASA. 1998.
What transpired from the previous wooden Jigsaw were two more artworks. (Scroll below)
1. The small work above was made from - two pieces of canvas glued together, a projector slide with an end of a slide reel inserted, with a jigsaw piece scratched onto the surface emulsion and a few strands of my hair between the slide case and film.
Text was written on the canvas with acrylic paint and medium.
I sent this artwork by post with an accompanying letter to Senator John Glenn, the American Astronaut at NASA. He was about to go on a mission into space to circumnavigate earth. They were studying the effects space had on an ageing human body, Glenn was 77 at the time. I read that he had written a letter to his beloved wife before the launch expressing his love for her. Love having no limits.
In my accompanying letter I asked if he could take the artwork up into space and let it go, so it could float around out there for perhaps centuries. I then received a letter back prior to the launch explaining he was unable to take the work with him but that my artwork will be placed in his archives.
To me the act of my narrative self-portrait being in a context that has no limits, or is stored indefinitely, reflects the capabilities of the mind. Where the only limitations we have are what we bring upon ourselves.
What is Between? - 'Love'
Here is the first opening lines of the letter John Glenn sent back to me -
1. The small work above was made from - two pieces of canvas glued together, a projector slide with an end of a slide reel inserted, with a jigsaw piece scratched onto the surface emulsion and a few strands of my hair between the slide case and film.
Text was written on the canvas with acrylic paint and medium.
I sent this artwork by post with an accompanying letter to Senator John Glenn, the American Astronaut at NASA. He was about to go on a mission into space to circumnavigate earth. They were studying the effects space had on an ageing human body, Glenn was 77 at the time. I read that he had written a letter to his beloved wife before the launch expressing his love for her. Love having no limits.
In my accompanying letter I asked if he could take the artwork up into space and let it go, so it could float around out there for perhaps centuries. I then received a letter back prior to the launch explaining he was unable to take the work with him but that my artwork will be placed in his archives.
To me the act of my narrative self-portrait being in a context that has no limits, or is stored indefinitely, reflects the capabilities of the mind. Where the only limitations we have are what we bring upon ourselves.
What is Between? - 'Love'
Here is the first opening lines of the letter John Glenn sent back to me -
2. The other work (below) I produced, while the wooden jigsaw was sent out to 100 people and the small work was sent to John Glenn, was an interactive work placed on the wall of Manukau School of Visual Arts. (I was in my final year of the Visual Arts course at the time I was creating this work).
With this work I asked people to write their opinions on the sheets of printed paper I had arranged on the wall, in reaction to specific questions. (It also was interesting that the sheets unintentionally formed an infinity sign).
I received varying comments, from the crude to the absurd, to the interesting and thought provoking and quite humouress . All of which were quite entertaining at the time. (See below)
The one statement which stood out for me was - "Great more space junk!" To which I thought, if this person considers an artwork or a person's portrait floating around in space to be junk, what then does he think of art, portraits and expression of the self down here on earth? Are we all producing junk? Is the expression of the self in material forms a waste of time? Where does the self begin and end?
Am I a hippy...maybe? These were interesting questions that emerged for me.
With this work I asked people to write their opinions on the sheets of printed paper I had arranged on the wall, in reaction to specific questions. (It also was interesting that the sheets unintentionally formed an infinity sign).
I received varying comments, from the crude to the absurd, to the interesting and thought provoking and quite humouress . All of which were quite entertaining at the time. (See below)
The one statement which stood out for me was - "Great more space junk!" To which I thought, if this person considers an artwork or a person's portrait floating around in space to be junk, what then does he think of art, portraits and expression of the self down here on earth? Are we all producing junk? Is the expression of the self in material forms a waste of time? Where does the self begin and end?
Am I a hippy...maybe? These were interesting questions that emerged for me.
The two sheets in the middle just below.
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Below are the sheets in the circles. (Unfortunately these are only photocopies of the original sheets.)
In 2017 and reflecting on this work while listening to Eckhart Tolle - author of The Power of Now' , I realize how this work relates to what he is saying and what we all are asking. He speaks about thought forms, awareness, being present and in the now. Because there is only now!
And the answer to the question, where does the self begin and end? Well, we are a part of everything and everything is a part of us - there is no end, everything is in flux all of the time. Everything is all made of the same stuff!
Forms are ever changing and rearranging and re-inventing themselves.
And the answer to the question, where does the self begin and end? Well, we are a part of everything and everything is a part of us - there is no end, everything is in flux all of the time. Everything is all made of the same stuff!
Forms are ever changing and rearranging and re-inventing themselves.
Article in the Howick and Pakuranga Times Newspaper, November 5th, 1998.
