detail of "offerings." The entire exhibit was made of beeswax, fibers, wood, lead, steel, graphite, and granite powder. There was an installation video, "Sex/Death/Offerings," and a protective sound environment, "Detritus of Mating" by composer Dennis Bathory-Kitsz
first "sex, death, offerings" from "Exquisite Corpse" exhibit in Burlington, VT, 1997.
For "Offerings/Sex/Redemption" I turned the gallery space into a holy temple-esque space. The original exhibit contained interconnected altars and death columns with offerings being given to a deity who is observing and taking what is most precious from the mortal. The essential organic and inorganic elements, softness, temperature,and lifelike smell continue to float toward death and to wait for forgiveness. Everything is related to prior excavations and provides future evidence of human endeavors. It is beyond time and civilization. The offerings are anthropological and archeological. We can lean against, move towards, and take them in our hands: we can feel them. They've their origins in human hands, but we do not know whose. They are part of a culture that is ever-present and is inherited from Egypt, Asia, medieval Europe and elsewhere. The premise, in a short time period of life, is based on what we see and give back. They are stripped of decoration, fashion, and other ornaments that are totally irrelevant. They have weight, dimension, and have inherited the human spirit. Later, someone will try to understand these remains of the past and future.
After the Vermont exhibit, I started working on a series of books made of lead, honey, graphite, granite powder, and natural fibers. These books served as personal readers attributed to each offering. In the archeological temple that I have created, theoretical monks working in the temple spent their entire lives writing the books for each offering.
example of book from Joyce Goldstein Gallery exhibit, "Books of Lead and Honey" in 1999.
view of monument and offerings at Prague "Sex, Death, Offerings" installation, 1999
In this exhibit, a guard worked by reading books and paintings with guides depicting the positioning of the offerings depending on the position of the sun, and then moving the offerings according to the diagrams. His work in continuity with the sound composition (Zonule Glaes II) playing and aesthetic holy environment helped create the multi-dimensional realistic feel of being in the temple system. Pictures are from "Sex Death Offerings" 1999 in Prague.
Also in 1999, the "Books of the Keeper" opened at Skidmore College, featuring a collection of the aforementioned books, written by the monks. "The Keeper" in essence, is the librarian of the books. In the center of the display was the largest of the offerings, made of lead and fibers, and encased in wood and glass for safe viewing. On top of the large offering were two sheets of moveable marble, allowing the viewer the opportunity to interactively excavate the offering and take a peek inside.
views of the show and the offering.
"By Pound Per Piece" was a continuation show of the show in Prague, in Kunsthall, December 1999-Januar
y 2000. Here are some shots from that show:
Later in 2000, "Archaeology" opened at OK Harris Gallery in New York. These large wooden caskets covered in beeswax, lead, and other materials were home to the many offerings to the dieties.
The next "Sex Death Offerings" exhibit took place at the Robert Pardo Gallery in September of 2001. This part of the series was titled "Levitation," which occurred after the acceptance of the offerings. At this point, the offerings begin transcending toward the dieties, as represented by the mylar paintings located above the offerings.
images from "Sex Death Offerings/Levitation"
In 2002, "Sex Death Offerings" reached the stage of "Transfiguration" at the University of Wyoming Museum of Art. "Transfiguration" was composed of several sections, including "Library," "Altars," "Remains of the Present," "Offerings," and "Transfiguration." Please read more about the exhibit and its rich conceptual aspects on my website here.
Four years later in 2006, the "offerings" transformed again in the exhibit "Archaeology/Excavation," featuring excavated en caustic wax paintings, four beeswax offerings, and the first set of marble offerings. Directly based on the beeswax offerings, with all of the visual and tactile qualities of the original divine offerings, the marble offerings are a pristine representation of their authentic brothers.
From the exhibit in 2006, my "offerings" have transformed again into a sleeker, richer, and more pristine form. Now inlaid with semi-precious stones, these "Offerings/Redemption" represent a completely new stage in time for the offerings. The new offerings have grown in size from initially 15" to now up to 60."
15" "Offering/Redemption"
black marble with alabaster and red marble inlay.
22" Offering/Redemption
white marble, lapis lazuli and tiger eye inlay.
-p
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