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Indepth Arts News:
"Descent of Flowers: Installation by Frank Vasello"
2002-01-09 until 2002-01-26
Mobius
Boston, MA,
USA
Through mythology we access parts of ourselves that we
may not normally be in touch with, the unconscious, the
psyche. By using ancient myths as inspiration, I seek to
create installations with archetypal images that are
accessible to many people. One doesn't need to know the
myth tounderstand.
Using the Greek myth of Persephone/Hades/Demeter as
inspiration, Descent of Flowers is an installation
exploring the themes of loss, longing and death.
Persephone, the Goddess of the Spring, dies each year.
Her mother, Demeter the Queen of the Fruitful Earth,
weeps each year for her missing daughter, and Hades,
the God of the Underworld and Wealth to which each
year Persephone must leave and return, sits alone in the
land of the dead for eight months of the year. The three
gods are locked in an eternal cycle of birth/death/rebirth, loss and longing. These
are the themes that will be explored.
Although the work may be inspired by myth, there is a deeply personal component
as well. As a child I faced a series of sudden deaths, and growing up I was consumed
by anxiety that I would suddenly die of some horrible disease. As an adult, fear of
being abandoned has hampered my ability to maintain long-term friendships and
relationships. Out of this state of confusion, anxiety and loss has come the artwork
and my attempts at sorting out these lingering feelings. Perhaps my own
romanticism of death as this lonely being sitting in the underworld is my attempt to
understand and compartmentalize that which can feel, at times, so monumental.
Although the themes being explored can be somewhat depressing, the installation
will also be beautiful. There is a stark beauty in dried flowers. A long table set for
two will be the focal point of the piece while hundreds of roses will be hung from
the ceiling creating an overhead carpet of flowers. Dried flower petals, organized in
various ways, will add color and texture. A text component will also accompany the
piece.
Frank Vasello
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