12/02/2015
Exhibition @ Chatham University
Please stop by Chatham University Art Gallery through January 22nd to see the exhibition
microcosm/MACROCOSM. My work
Cursed Is The Ground will be on view and was created specifically for the show's theme.
Professor Elizabeth Roark has this to say about the exhibition. "Defined by the Ancient Greeks, the words microcosm and macrocosm propose that the same patterns are reproduced at all levels of the cosmos, from the largest scale (the universe) to the smallest (the sub-atomic). For this exhibition the students of ART 378 Curating the Visual Arts invited members of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh to explore these concepts in works of art limited in size but unlimited in imagination. The result is a broad range of meditations on the theme, from works that explore tiny worlds within worlds, to bits of nature exaggerated in size, to abstract shapes that echo systems found in nature. As part of the programming for Chatham's Global Focus Year of Climate Change,we also conceive
microcosm/MACROCOSM as suggesting that the whole can be embedded in the tiniest elements, just as the actions of one individual can impact global circumstances".
Opening Reception: December 4th, 4-7pm
Featured Artists: Skip Allen, Maggy Aston, Lauren Braun, Daniel Burke, Matthew Conboy, Bill DeBernardi, Lori Hepner, Deborah Hosking, Maura Koehler Keeney, Chris McGinnis, ChiaLing Pitluga, Shawn Quinlan, Dafna Rehavia-Hanauer, Daniel Roth, Christopher Ruane, Stephen Tuomala, Melissa Vertosick, and Hisham Youssef.
[img]http://christopherruane.com/Uploads/Site_Content_Images/microcosmMACROCOSM-Flyer-2<1>.jpg
To explore the work in more detail please use the link provided and read the artist statement below.
* http://www.christopherruane.com/Set/Photographic-Elaborations/Cursed-Is-The-Ground*
A mix of biblical symbolism and dreamlike Cli-fi, Christopher Ruane’s Cursed Is The Ground asks many questions. Are the divers seeking knowledge or survival, meaning or power? An onlooker peers through an enclosure lined with 40 hash marks, perhaps counting the days of his ordeal. In the meticulously rendered world beyond the window, tendrils of lightening sprout from the tree, defying the laws of nature and keeping the seekers at arms length. Is this the last tree on earth, or the first? This world is engulfed in water, implying a circumstance in which humankind could not exist without assistance. Although the divers appear tranquil, greater forces are at play. The portal reveals a hidden eye with the tree at its center, demonstrating the connectivity between nature, the human condition, and spirituality. (Statement written by curator Ellen Murphy and artist Christopher Ruane)
