michelle samour
artist statements
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bundle.. eyes of god ..not beyond their own nature.. not drawn from nature.. reflecting pools
bundle
I am interested in taxonomy, how we organize our thoughts and ideas, how we categorize, how we create systems. At the same time, I am interested in transience and the space around this attempt at formulating the concrete. For all of our efforts to understand one another and the world whether from a biologic, scientific or sociocultural perspective, little is finite. Systems can be created and broken apart. And yet, there are forms, proportions and patterns that are constant and shared in nature, art, science and geometry, from the Fibonacci numbers in flowers to those in our DNA.
Making colored handmade paper/vellum circles, I am creating an organic, translucent and transitory context for this investigation. The circle becomes a symbol of the ‘all knowing eye’, the eye of the telescope and microscope and the physiological eye, our first lens to the visual world. Clusters of ‘cells’, (biologic, geometric, technologic and social) are held together by their close proximity to one another and float on the surface, momentarily captured for further investigation. They reference everything from microscopic radiolarian, a group of like-minded people held together by a common purpose, the interchange of data by packet switching in Internet communications, to links of fiber-optic cables and wireless connections. The organic becomes over-laid and interchangeable with the technological.
Color supports the notion of organization and categorization. From Isaac Newton’s theory of light and colors, which proved that sunlight could be separated (using a prism) into seven colors, and his transformation of the color spectrum on the other side of the prism into a color circle, to the RGB color model for the display of images in televisions and computers, color becomes yet another investigation into making the invisible, visible.
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bundle.. eyes of god ..not beyond their own nature.. not drawn from nature.. reflecting pools
eyes of god: conversations about science and faith
In the 21st century, advances in science and technology are challenging our religious beliefs and our faith more than ever. Stem cell research and genetic engineering enable us and/or have the potential to clone, pre-determine gender, correct birth defects, develop new vaccines, regenerate nerves and reverse debilitating disease. Add to this the reoccurring debate about the origins of man: evolution versus intelligent design and creationism. Where do science and our religious and faith-based beliefs intersect? Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who became famous for his theories of evolution and natural selection, was a deeply religious man. Was he an anomaly or an example of how science and faith can co-exist?
For thousands of years the ‘Eye of God’ has been used as a symbol of the ‘all-knowing God.’ One of the most extraordinary cosmological events, the solar eclipse, is described by many as the ultimate ‘Eye of God’. The ‘Eye’s’ appearance on our dollar bill and the Great Seal of the United States (In God We trust), its placement within the Masonic pyramid, its illustration on the palm of the hand in numerous cultures, and its appearance on prehistoric earth mounds, affirm it presence as a potent symbol in both our spiritual and lay worlds.
Eyes of God: Conversations about Science and Faith is a reflection on the intersections of science and faith in the 21st century.
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bundle.. eyes of god ..not beyond their own nature.. not drawn from nature.. reflecting pools
not beyond their own nature
Not Beyond Their Own Nature is based on the illustrations of radiolarian (microscopic, single celled protozoon that live a floating existence in the seas and oceans) by Ernst Haeckel, a nineteenth century German naturalist and illustrator, who often “enhanced” the actual appearances of radiolarian by inventing structures with perfect geometric regularity. 1.
Created only by light, the radiolarian move, ghost-like on tracing paper, and reference the illustrative, transfer process used in early lithography. Their large scale speaks to the importance of magnification in scientific illustration and our understanding of the natural world. Released from the “enhanced” formalism given them by Haeckel, new life is breathed into the radiolarian and they return to a natural, floating existence.
1. I have Landed, The End of a Beginning in Natural History Stephen Jay Gould, 2003 by Turbo, Inc. Three Rivers Press, New York, New York.
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bundle.. eyes of god ..not beyond their own nature.. not drawn from nature.. reflecting pools
not drawn from nature
Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) was a German naturalist and artist. Haeckel’s critics recognized from the start (that he)…took systematic license in “improving” his specimens to make them more symmetrical or more beautiful. In particular, his gorgeous plates for his technical monograph on the taxonomy of radiolarians (intricate and delicate skeletons of single-celled planktonic organisms) often “enhanced” the actual appearances (already stunningly complex and remarkable symmetrical) by inventing structures with perfect geometric regularity. 1.
In the series, Not Drawn From Nature, I have taken the 11 radiolarians illustrated in Haeckel’s Kunstformen der Natur out of context to paint their portraits and further idealize them. By making my own copies I have continued this process of re-interpretation (bias) and by doing so, “improved upon” these amazing microscopic creatures. From dark to light, my palette refers to enlightenment and the motivating quest for knowledge and beauty that generated these original illustrations. Floating ghostlike on a background that suggests the clustered cells that comprise these planktonic creatures and their fossilized skeletal structures, they are painted with independent circles and ovoids, colonized to form a strange and enigmatic whole.
1. I have Landed, The End of a Beginning in Natural History
Stephen Jay Gould, 2003 by Turbo, Inc. Three Rivers Press, New York, New York.
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bundle.. eyes of god ..not beyond their own nature.. not drawn from nature.. reflecting pools
reflecting pools: beautiful viruses
A reflecting pool generally consists of a shallow pool of water, usually quite calm. It is designed to cause solemnity and, as its name implies, reflection 1. In our contemporary world we are being threatened by an array of deadly viruses that we have little or no immunity from, and that have the potential to kill (and are already killing) large numbers of humans. SARS, Smallpox. Ebola, Avian (Bird Flu), AIDS are just a few of the viruses that have been brought to our attention as scientists, health workers, and immunologists try to control their spread and develop vaccines for them. Their spread is compounded by political, economic and social reasons. As we move through a world where these threats are ever present, how do we maintain our equilibrium? How do we protect ourselves from fear, how do we live with this threat? Reflecting Pools; Beautiful Viruses is a place for quiet contemplation and reflection. Floating in the pools are viruses; drawing the viewer in with their beauty, not their deadliness. The pools’ circular configuration suggests the cell and the petre dish, both places where viruses grow. The virus’ beauty and sometimes flower-like configurations suggest an aquatic garden, full of self-contained life, but with the potential to kill. There is much to think about. Beauty can be deceiving.
1.http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Reflecting_pool
All statements are copyright michelle samour 2009
