ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I am currently engaged in an ongoing project to illuminate the canon of Planetarianism, a small and slowly growing religion that identifies itself closely with the biosphere. The sect (which may or may not actually exist) recognizes the fact that the earth’s crust is the only place where we know we can survive, and that its preservation as a sustaining environment is vital to our existence. While not an official member, I believe its canon contains the core of a moral code that can serve the entire world in this time of environmental imperatives and sectarian conflict. Please see more about this religious tradition on the Planetarianism page.

The Plantarian canon consists of “conjectures” organized under six categories, written, in the manner of ancient biblical texts, without vowels, word breaks or punctuation (for reasons outlined on the Planetarianism page). As such, they must be decoded to be understood by outsiders. My interpretations consist of an illustration executed in oil on aluminum surrounded by the text of the conjecture. Although I have been given a complete set of the current canon, none of the active members has volunteered to decode conjectures for me or to confirm the accuracy of my interpretations. I have, therefore, retained the vowel-free nature of the text, relying on the illustration to cast light on meaning (although the titles of the works reveal my interpretations in their totality). I have chosen to render my images on aluminum (a reference to the metallic grounds often used in early Christian art), to cut the image into pieces (an allusion both to stained glass windows and as a symbol of examination) and to reassemble the image with brass escutcheon pins (a metaphor for conviction).

A series of smaller works under the category “That Which Is Not Uniquely Human” expands on one of Planetarianism’s central tenets: that human beings do not occupy some special place apart from the rest of the animal kingdom in the eyes of God. The twin categories of “That Which Is Uniquely Human” and “That Which Is Not Uniquely Human” throw light on the long list of attribute we share with other species and the relatively short list of (often unattractive) attributes unique to homo sapiens.

A separate series deals with the concept of prayer. Mark 11:24 assures Christians, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will be yours.” By contrast, the Planetarian stance on prayer is expressed in Metaphysics: 10: “The idea that prayer is the catalyst for divine action says some disturbing things about God.” The prayers I have illustrated in the “Please God” series are meant to challenge ideas about what is appropriate to pray for and the very nature of prayer itself.