destiny
[des-tuh-nee]
Something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing; lot or fortune.
The predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.
The power or agency that determines the course of events.
For many months I have been working on the creation of a series of Hurricane Katrina related art. They include special prints, sculptures and paintings. The 10th anniversary of Katrina is not until the end of August but I have felt compelled to create these ahead of the anniversary.
But a friend asked me a simple question the other day that stopped me in my tracks a moment. He simply asked "what is the purpose?" I blinked a moment and said I did not understand his question. He clarified by asking me if I was creating them for a specific reason, like a show or an auction or something.
I thought about it a moment and responded "I create them because I must". There was no better answer. There was no show they were destined for. There was no grander purpose in mind for them. I just felt compelled to create them and even felt an urgency that they must be done.
It is a fact that when I began them I didn't even have a sense of a theme yet. That has resolved itself in the title "The Katrina Portraits". But this is a series of work that really is as disembodied as a hurricane is. It has substance and a pattern just like a storm, but it is so ephemeral that it may exist one day and fade away the next. It may leave a lasting impact on some, again just like a storm, or it may drift away into the sea and not be seen again. Who knows?
Perhaps someone out there knows what they are for. Perhaps someone reading this will say "I know what you should do with them". All I can say is that as the artist my purpose is to create them. Someone else may come along that has a purpose for their use. I will continue to make them. I know one thing for sure. The complete series is a gift. A gift to this city and a gift to the anniversary. If a group or organization would like them as a donation, please let me know
This series is divided into three parts.
1) The Paintings
2) The Land
3) The Faces
Creatively
~Grey~
Email: gcsartno@aol.com for more information
