Art Statement, 2020 - 2022
I.
The mandala needs no introduction or defense from me. Mandalas have been a deep and vital element of peace and transformation for centuries, if not millennia, in cultures around the globe, from the rangoli or kolem of India and the sand painting of Tibet in the east, to the medicine wheel and the Navaho sand paintings in the west. The Asia Society has this to say about them, “A mandala is a symbol of the universe in its ideal form, and its creation signifies the transformation of a universe of suffering into one of joy.” Bruno Barnhart, a Catholic theologian, goes further, averring, “Mandalas represent ‘the reconciliation of integration of polar elements.” St. Bonaventure, in the 13th century, talked about the "coincidence of opposites," apparent in the mandala. The Asia Society adds, helpfully, “It can also be used as an aid to meditation, helping the meditator to envision how to achieve the perfect self.” It is the cosmic balance, the cornerstone of breath.
I think of my designs as listening prayers. In a blog post from August of ’22 I wrote: There is a story of Mother Theresa being interviewed. When she was asked what she said to God in her prayers she answered that she didn’t say anything. When asked then what God said to her, she said that he didn’t say anything either.
I love that story. It sounds very much like my own engagement with God, the experience of quiet presence expressed in my Square Mandalas and Remnants, this quiet, focused attentiveness of deep silence. Listening prayers are a contemplative engagement with God’s own silence.
II.
The word “mandala” means, literally, “circle” in Sanskrit. My designs are square, however square mandalas are by no means unusual. They are created with the same purpose in mind as the usual round mandalas. The circle within the square is an ancient archetypal form.
Structurally, each design is built around a circle, with a strong focus on the center. The circle is an enclosure that honors a center. A square stabilizes, while honoring, the circle. Separately and together, the circle and the square are perfect examples of symmetry. Perfect symmetry, of course, is perfect compositional harmony, and it contributes to a contemplative attitude. David Wade, in Symmetry, the Ordering Principle, writes, "Symmetry principles are characterized by a quietude, a stillness that is somehow beyond the bustling world…” All then is complete.
Yes. But in the same breath Wade goes on to add, “yet, in one way or another, they are almost always involved with transformation, disturbance, or movement." Of course. This is certainly true of the symmetry in mandalas. Transformation is vital, and transformation requires disturbance. Movement. So you will see in my square mandalas symmetry that is rarely simply bilateral. Movement is created in most of my designs with rotation symmetry (both fourfold and twofold), and sometimes radial symmetry, overlaying a bilateral base. This is called dihedral symmetry, where one symmetry dances with another in transformative movement. Most of my square mandalas are dihedral. David Wade again: In dihedral symmetry "the lines of reflection intersect at a central point of rotation." Exactly. The bilateral symmetry, also known as reflective symmetry, interacts with the rotation, disturbing equanimity with movement, while never dishonoring the center. This movement is complemented and enhanced with sythe-like arcs created by circles that overlap each other slightly.
These designs are drawn on graph paper, copied, then cut out, painted, and mounted on board. They are delicate and vulnerable, yet safe and contained on solid board backgrounds. On a wall they move slightly forward, into the space of the viewer.
The mandala needs no introduction or defense from me. Mandalas have been a deep and vital element of peace and transformation for centuries, if not millennia, in cultures around the globe, from the rangoli or kolem of India and the sand painting of Tibet in the east, to the medicine wheel and the Navaho sand paintings in the west. The Asia Society has this to say about them, “A mandala is a symbol of the universe in its ideal form, and its creation signifies the transformation of a universe of suffering into one of joy.” Bruno Barnhart, a Catholic theologian, goes further, averring, “Mandalas represent ‘the reconciliation of integration of polar elements.” St. Bonaventure, in the 13th century, talked about the "coincidence of opposites," apparent in the mandala. The Asia Society adds, helpfully, “It can also be used as an aid to meditation, helping the meditator to envision how to achieve the perfect self.” It is the cosmic balance, the cornerstone of breath.
I think of my designs as listening prayers. In a blog post from August of ’22 I wrote: There is a story of Mother Theresa being interviewed. When she was asked what she said to God in her prayers she answered that she didn’t say anything. When asked then what God said to her, she said that he didn’t say anything either.
I love that story. It sounds very much like my own engagement with God, the experience of quiet presence expressed in my Square Mandalas and Remnants, this quiet, focused attentiveness of deep silence. Listening prayers are a contemplative engagement with God’s own silence.
II.
The word “mandala” means, literally, “circle” in Sanskrit. My designs are square, however square mandalas are by no means unusual. They are created with the same purpose in mind as the usual round mandalas. The circle within the square is an ancient archetypal form.
Structurally, each design is built around a circle, with a strong focus on the center. The circle is an enclosure that honors a center. A square stabilizes, while honoring, the circle. Separately and together, the circle and the square are perfect examples of symmetry. Perfect symmetry, of course, is perfect compositional harmony, and it contributes to a contemplative attitude. David Wade, in Symmetry, the Ordering Principle, writes, "Symmetry principles are characterized by a quietude, a stillness that is somehow beyond the bustling world…” All then is complete.
Yes. But in the same breath Wade goes on to add, “yet, in one way or another, they are almost always involved with transformation, disturbance, or movement." Of course. This is certainly true of the symmetry in mandalas. Transformation is vital, and transformation requires disturbance. Movement. So you will see in my square mandalas symmetry that is rarely simply bilateral. Movement is created in most of my designs with rotation symmetry (both fourfold and twofold), and sometimes radial symmetry, overlaying a bilateral base. This is called dihedral symmetry, where one symmetry dances with another in transformative movement. Most of my square mandalas are dihedral. David Wade again: In dihedral symmetry "the lines of reflection intersect at a central point of rotation." Exactly. The bilateral symmetry, also known as reflective symmetry, interacts with the rotation, disturbing equanimity with movement, while never dishonoring the center. This movement is complemented and enhanced with sythe-like arcs created by circles that overlap each other slightly.
These designs are drawn on graph paper, copied, then cut out, painted, and mounted on board. They are delicate and vulnerable, yet safe and contained on solid board backgrounds. On a wall they move slightly forward, into the space of the viewer.