VERNON DESMOND GROSS
TAYLORS’ CONTEMPORANEA FINE ARTS GALLERY |
|
VERNON DESMOND GROSS
TAYLORS’ CONTEMPORANEA FINE ARTS GALLERY |
Formal Education: Arizona State University, Washington University St. Louis
About the Work
Imagine a civilization about which we know nothing. We can’t even put it in a context of time or place. Now imagine that artifacts from that civilization have been found - ceremonial objects, totems, icons emblems that were perhaps carried in processionals.
The objects have a mysterious aura about them. They are elegant and fierce. Made of wood, stone and metal, they are sometimes layered as if one millennium added their own symbols on top of the last, each addition enriching the object and the mystery.
But, even though the objects are exotic and unknown, they somehow speak to us. It’s as if their shapes and construction are vaguely remembered.
In reality, of course, they did not come from another civilization. Rather they were created by one of us in the language of contemporary art, where the context of time and place melts away to reveal our dreams, our pride, our intelligence and our majesty.
Artist Statement
The conceptual theme of the my work is the exploration of ceremony in cultural structures, both spiritual and secular. Symbols are important vehicles to impart socio-political or spiritual information in any society. The progression of technical skills and social concepts by the artists of early cultures led to the stabilization of images. Those that were recognized as most vital were accepted as the collective symbols. With the onset of mass instantaneous image distribution our culture’s historic symbols have become lost in a barrage of symbols with a half life of a week or a day. My work addresses what can be seen as the antithesis of this phenomenon, i.e. essential basic elements of cultural substance, spirituality, ceremony, fertility, an awareness of the natural order and balance of forces.
ICON CROZIER #3
HT. 6’-7” Stainless,Steel,Bronze,Oak,24kt Gold Plate
FASCES #3
HT. 8’-11” Stainless,Steel,Bronze,Granite
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