Way of the Tarot, Icons
About
This series originated with They. In 2002, I visited the National Gallery in Washington D.C.and was fascinated by the religious icons and the way the frames are an integral part of the paintings. I created They within a nexus of conspiracy theories and the occult. After painting my Soldiers I returned to this motif in 2007. For the rest of the project I chose a series of images and ideas that I was consistently drawn to. I printed cards with each of these images or ideas and then randomly drew them from the deck and created these images. The images and ideas came from childhood interests, as well as vintage science books, textbooks and from the occult. I was attempting to create a visual language like the Tarot, a personal symbolic system of arcane knowledge.
Parsons Twins 2010 was made for a group exhibition at Gallery 242 in Boston, with the theme of Freak Shows. It is inspired by the work of Jack Parsons, a rocket scientist and founder of the Jet Propulsion Lab. Not only did he make it possible for humanity to reach the Moon, but he was also a practitioner of ritual magic and an associate of Aleister Crowley. Before each rocket launch, he would recite Crowley’s hymn to the Greek God Pan. Parsons Twins contains the Androgyny, the Saturn V, nuclear reactions, “as above so below”, and the weird connection between science and magic.
The remaining work continues using the created archetypes from my personal tarot system. I have also integrated common back yard creatures such as bunnies, chipmunks, robins, turtles, as well as ritual magic, space travel, alchemy, sacred geometry, the four elements, and a sinister enemy trying to ruin it all.
Worcester Telegram & Gazette article featuring Saint Goddard
April 12, 2012
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