Mysterious Light Reception

 

Photo by: Sean Rohde

The images were hung with great attention, the cheese and crackers were layed out for consumption,   Dragons Breath incense filled the space with an atmospheric aroma as the first visitors walked through the door.  Artist Receptions are always tough for me, so many interesting people to talk too and not enough time.  Last night was no exception......The evening started off a little slow, but it did not take long to get going.  Scot Mckenzie of Elektrobahn layed down some ethereal grooves to complete the mood.  A mixture of Jimmy Swaggart, Sci-fi soundtracks, vintage synthesizer, mood music and ambient electronic; the set was a perfect match to the photography on the walls. 

Scot (Elekrobahn) will be performing at Elektrostube on February 4th at Anti_Space.  You would be a fool to miss it.......The Mayor stopped by for a photo opportunity and many artists attended; Marilyn Szabo, Bruce Charles, Sean Rohde, Steve Pastor, Josh, Andrew and Kevin and many others.  World renowned musician Joe Gallivan stopped by with his wife, artist and  musician Alicia Bay Laurel.  Joe performed earlier in the evening at the El Mirage Library with two other musicians creating a melodic rhythmic soundscape for those lucky few whom were able to attend.  Thanks to the Reiki Goddess Debra Willis Powers for her assistance in the creation of the artist statement for "Mysterious Light"

Mysterious Light: Thomas Schultz

Since time immemorial man has looked to the heavens for answers to the questions:
Where did I come from? Why am I here? And What will become of me?

"It is certainly interesting to know that we come from the stars, but even more interesting
is the realization that we're part of the cosmos, [and] although we may only be a speck in
the immensity of the universe, we are the Great Father's children, and our destiny is
linked to that of creation. Every being has a role to play, a destiny to fulfill, and so every
bit of existence is transcendent." ~~~Don Isidro, Mayan Sage

The photographs I display here are each literal photographic time capsules ~ a moment
captured and recorded under the light of the moon. Seemingly ethereal, they depict a
time and a subject, though time itself also serves as a subject. Each still depicts a
measure of the now....and the now...and the now.....to become what is shown: a singular
event within an extended passage of time. Each image portrays this time lapse; we need
only to expand our vision to see beyond and into this space. In these individual time
segments, the possibility of multiple dimensions can be conceived, and that these
captured moments create perhaps a dimension unto itself in an idea of condensed time.
This concept makes one question the relationship of time and space, and of coexisting
realities.

Our belief systems are based on experience, knowledge and intuition, therefore we
“know” what we see and feel. It would be easy to take reliable objects like the sun, the
moon and the stars for granted, especially in a world so far removed from itself. What I
feel is now more than ever we need to use our intuition and our knowledge to return to
nature, to live in the moments, to see past our accepted reality.

“Reality is the vision we have of what surrounds us, but there are other, much more
subtle realities which are more important. As humans evolved, they lost this ability to
perceive and are thus disconnected from the cosmos; in a state of neglect they seek to fill
with material goods. This only condemns them to self- destruction and is the reason a
return to the Natural Order is imperative." ~~~Ramon Carbala, Mayan Mam

The primitive natives of the Malay Peninsula believed the firmament was solid. They
imagined the sky as a great pot, held over the earth by a slender cord. If the cord broke
the pot would fall and the earth would be destroyed. They also imagined the Sun and
Moon as women, and the stars as the Moon's children. Legend tells us the Sun long ago
had as many children as the Moon, and fearing that mankind could not bear so much heat
and brilliance, they both agreed to devour their children. The Sun kept the bargain, but
the Moon hid her children. The Sun was very angry and sought to kill the Moon. As she
pursued her, the chase of Sun and Moon became a perpetual one.

It is our perceptions of time and space, which root us to a milestone, a memorable event,
a singular moment. In any lapsed segment of so-called reality, we can sometimes see
beyond what we previously knew to be possible, or what we imagined was reality, from
just the moment before. Before, that is, it slips away into another, and another, and
another; the sands of time in an endless hourglass, eons unfolding into eternity and a
greater abyss of space.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support Arts in El Mirage, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon...

Beautiful Chaos Exhibition

 
  Dante' Maritano Navarro, born in 1981 in Phoenix, Arizona.   I was named after my father’s cell mate, which has always struck me as funny for some reason.   I had a pretty rough up bringing, with a father that was never around and a mother that was a user, which forced me to move around a lot, see a lot, and experience more than I probably should have at a young age.  I am the first of five kids, three brothers and one sister, poor girl.  My two younger brothers’ were taken to foster homes and I haven’t seen them since.  My other brother is doing a five year prison sentence while my sister just got finished with her own five year sentence, but is using so her whereabouts are unknown. 
    My reasons for explaining this is not for pity, but to express how blessed I feel to be where I am, to have the talent for painting that I do, and how lucky I am to be surrounded by the people I have in my life.  All this, and to have made it out drug free and to have a positive outlook is a blessing in and of itself. 
    I am a twenty-nine year old artist and have only been painting for roughly about five years.  My medium consists of acrylics, pencil, spray paint, oil pastels, stamps, razor blades, anything I can get my hands on.  This mash up of supplies keeps my paintings interesting and varied in composition.  All of the emotion that goes into a painting produces a result of beautiful chaos and an incredible amount of detail.   I love art.  It is what I will be doing until my heart stops beating or my liver fails.  Which ever comes first. 
    I feel that it is time for other people to experience what I have to offer to the art world and because it is doing no good to have my paintings stacked under my bed.  This exhibition contains a wide variety of past and present work that represents my talent. 

Danté Maritano Navarro