Kafka and the Bible
Artist Statement
I came to artistically address the Bible through my interest in the writings of Franz Kafka, many of whose parables reinterpret biblical stories. Kafka explains the world in a way that ameliorates my normal confusion about it. As his parables began to enter my work, I experienced a growing fascination with the power of the original biblical stories, and the power of the Bible itself in the West. As someone without faith, I understand the desire for it, but not the act itself. Though I feel great wonder and awe in response to nature and the arts, my spiritual life centers on visual art. It is where I find the most meaning and deepest sense of safety, and where I perform devotional practices.
The Building of the Temple
Mixed media on canvas (photos, Xerox transfer, acrylic, pencil, pastel), 44 x 44 inches, 1993
And Sarah was right to laugh
Copy photos, charcoal, ash, burnt paper, acrylic medium, 36 x 36 inches, 1996
The Great Wall and the Tower of Babel
Copy photos, charcoal, charcoal lumps, acrylic, 35 x 45 inches, 1997
But Take Another Abraham
Acrylic and pencil on canvas, suspended from lead strip, 87 x 78 inches, 1994