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November 24th, 2012

11/24/2012

BODY & SOUL - Opening reception 12/12/12 at HILTON | ASMUS CONTEMPORARY (in collaboration with Jennifer Norback Fine Art)

WHAT IS SOUL?
By Arica Hilton

Webster's dictionary describes the soul as:
1: the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life
2: the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe
3: a person's total self
4 : a person's moral and emotional nature or sense of identity
5: Anima (a current of air, wind, breath, the vital principle, life), sometimes equivalent to animus ("mind"), from Proto-Indo-European *Ane ("to breathe, blow")
6: spiritual or moral force : fervor
7: In theology, the soul is further defined as that part of the individual which partakes of divinity and often is considered to survive the death of the body.

So how does an artist visually define SOUL? That was the challenge when I began the exploration and connections of SOUL, combined with and exclusive of, BODY, for my December exhibition at Hilton | Asmus Contemporary. I have always painted, whether on canvas or in my poetry, an interconnection between the human being and the universe, as in my series, WHERE STARS ARE BORN. That was the beginning of a lifelong search for the origins of life, my own, and in general. So where is the link between the elements that comprise a nebula, those clouds of dust and gases in the galaxies far, far away from our earth AND the human SOUL We know that without the creation and destruction of stars, we would not physically exist. What is the underlying relationship between that realm of spirit and the physical aspects of the world we live in? Can we quantify SOUL?

In many mythological, religious, philosophical, and psychological traditions, SOUL is considered incorporeal (meaning, without a body) and, in many conceptions, the immortal essence of a person, living thing, or object. In ancient Greece, AIR was considered to be incorporeal (movement) as opposed to EARTH (solid). The Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, attributed "soul" (anima) to all organisms but taught that only humans are immortal, as in #6 of the Webster definition above. Other religions teach that all organisms, not only humans, such as animals, plants, rivers, mountains and natural phenomena possess souls. This latter belief is called animism, where there is no separation between the spiritual and physical world. And then there was Carl Jung, who described the anima and animus as elements of the collective unconscious, a psychic awareness that exists by an accumulation of experience by preceding generations.

So what does this all mean to me? Is the soul a manifestation of the essence of life? Does it materialize from the mind process? Or is it a separate "thing" that exists in our bodies that the ancient Egyptian Goddess Ma'at can weigh on her scales of truth and justice when a person dies.

I have always believed in the centers of the body that collect and distribute energy. I believe that we, as physical beings are more than a collection of atoms, molecules and cells. We have a brain that is stimulated by thought. But how is thought actually manifested in our brain? And what about the process of the heart? Many of us "think" with our hearts, or often with our "gut." We have the ability to distill feelings and thoughts through various organs of our bodies. Where and how does that apply to SOUL? Can we differentiate how the ultimate nature of our spirit interrelates with our bodies? These are questions that have perplexed me for years.

When I think of SOUL, I cannot help but think of the word, LOVE. To me, LOVE is the connector of everything, the link to life, so to speak. In my poetry and paintings, each is infused with that recognition, in connection with the earth, the air, the stars and beyond. Perhaps I subscribe to the philosphy of Animism. All aspects of the elements that comprise the universe permeate through my works. As far as I am concerned, searching for Soul is searching for Love. Contrary to popular belief, I believe LOVE is the "grounding" force in life. So many people think of love as a weakness, not a strength, as an ethereal, transient, figment of one's imagination. Very much like SOUL that people think of as an ethereal, elusive, mist of some sort that is separate from the body. I think the chemistry between LOVE and SOUL is unmistakable, interchangeable. If we believe in a faith-based definition of Soul, then Love is inexorably intertwined with that concept and thus, the Body becomes the vessel for the intermingling of these various dimensions of consciousness.

Later, I will delve into the arenas of Quantum Mechanics and String Theory, the belief in other dimensions and parallel universes, but that is Part II of the BODY & SOUL series. For now, I am trying to explore how SOUL manifests through our minds and bodies in relation to the elements, the universe, our emotions, our brains, and in our hearts. Color, form, words and symbols are the only way I can visually express this world of phenomena (from the Greek verb ‘phanein’, to show, shine, appear, to be manifest, or manifest itself.) A human being, seeking to manifest light in a tangible form that speaks to the mind of another human being.

I have always believed that our job in this lifetime is to find joy in every aspect of our lives. When we talk about SOUL, I believe all we need is this fundamental objective: BE LOVE. Once we can actually train ourselves to love everything and everyone, even our enemies :-) we learn that we can transcend our lives to a state of lightness, a feeling of the eternal. When we are in love, we are in life. I truly believe that those who are unable to love, are unable to live a life of satisfaction. So what really is SOUL?

One of my favorite mystic/philosophers of my land, the 13th century Sufi poet, Rumi, put it best:

"All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
And I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place I'll be completely sober.
Meanwhile, I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
But who is it now in my ear, who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes?
What is soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home!"

--Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
translated by Coleman Barks
from "The Illuminated Rumi"

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RICK GARCIA's COLORS OF OM

11/6/2012

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Rick Garcia's "Colors of Om"

BESOS/KISSES

On Friday, November 2nd, Hilton|Asmus Contemporary hosted the opening reception for the COLORS OF OM, an exhibition of paintings and guitars by Miami-based, Cuban-American artist Rick Garcia that runs through Nov. 23.

The vibrant pigments of Garcia's pop-art style exploded from the gallery's walls as collectors admired the rich details and Cuban iconography.

Garcia's exhibition begins with an homage to his father's heritage, the retro Cuban culture of the 1950's, the happy vacation idyll of Havana. Having said that, his paintings of bright, cheerful colors, touch upon the sad and poverty stricken island in his Cuba Con Leche series. Each of the Cuba series is infused with a coffee cup and an image of the island. Garcia talks about the symbolic aspect of the otherwise joyful paintings. He tells us of a Cuba, where food is rationed and people can only buy milk from the government until their child reaches the age of seven. If they want milk after that, they have to buy it at exorbitant prices on the Black Market. The average income per capita in Cuba is $19 per month. Cuba Con Leche (Cuba with Milk) is about milk for everyone, at all times. A land that is prosperous once again.

On the north wall of the gallery hang joyous paintings of beautiful women tanning on the beach, golden haired movie stars, men playing guitars (a la Buena Vista Social Club), 1950's Cadillacs and Chevys. On the opposite wall, these retro symbols of a Cuban era gone by face inward-looking, soul searching, spiritual beings.

LAKSHMI (Goddess of Wealth)

Images of Hindu gods and goddesses and symbols of the chakras dig deep into the subconscious of the irony of happiness and suffering. Shiva and the beautiful Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) look towards the bodies on the beach, the fancy cars, the cups of coffee, offering peace, serenity and true wealth, wealth in every aspect of one's life, to a land that is more often than not devoid of even the basic necessities.

One looks at Garcia's "Lakshmi" and we see the same face of the blonde beauty (a la Rita Hayworth) gracing his painting in "Dream Club" an homage to Johnny's Dream Club, of the 40's and 50's Havana before Castro that was located in the Marianao, not far from the famed Tropicana. "Lakshmi" and the "Dream Girl" have similar qualities, beauty, elegance, open eyes penetrating into the viewer. The only difference being that the "Dream Girl"

DREAM CLUB

is dressed in a beautiful black dress, revealing a hint of breast. She is ready to go out for the evening to Johnny's, ready to be the dream of the men who are there that night in the steamy Havana of the 50's. She is solid, bright, earthly and earthy all at once.

"Lakshmi," on the other hand, is ethereal, a spirit, appearing and disappearing. She is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), the embodiment of beauty, purity, generosity, grace and charm.

Are they really two different women? Or are they the same woman? Are they the dual aspects of all women? The earthly and the ethereal? Perhaps they are the body and the soul emerging through a history and a present that is innate in all of us.

The canvases on the walls are accompanied by Garcia's love of music and his penchant for playing the guitar. Gibson Epiphone guitars painted in Garcia's dazzling colors balance each wall of paintings. One is called "Kiss the Sky," from the Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze."

The other, is the OM guitar. Om, the primordial sound, is considered the sound of life. OM is the infinite vibration that resonates through the Universe, providing life and sustenance to everything. OM is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, the one constant that unites all of creation at its deepest level. Om is the purifier, the all powerful tool that awakens in us the deepest reflection of Spirit or Universal energy. It is the essence that unites all of us at our most intuitive level.

What appears to be a bright and colorful collection of works, ends up being a profound and redeemable history of a land that has known pain and suffering for much too long. When one looks at the depth and width of a nation, of a people, of one individual, a cup of coffee with milk seems like a simple remedy for healing. But Garcia, in his evocative and playful style, seems to have found the solution with the simplicity of an eastern monk. He says OM, to what is, what was, and what can be again.

COLORS of OM will run through November 23.

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