Inspriational Art

Yesterday, Brian and I drove to Los Angeles to visit with our friend George and go see the Ashes and Snow art instalation at the Santa Monica Pier. (For $15 tickets call: 1-866-468-7619)

Wow! Over 100 large-scale, sepia-toned photographic artworks and three 35mm films by artist Gregory Colbert are exhibited in a 56,000 square foot temporary structure constructed largely of recyclable and reusable materials.

It was like entering a huge temple in which subtle music played while we wandered down wooden thourough-fares, dark-grey pebbles creating a field beneath the 5' by 8' photographs on textured fabric, hanging in mid-air.

The photographs represent breathtakingly-peaceful relationships between humans and beasts: elephants, whales, falcons, cheetahs...

I was transported to a dreamlike place where all my hoped-for desires of a planet filled with beauty were revealed.

When you go, and know that you must, be prepared to sit for long periods of time, while the films intoxicate you. Very meditative...in absolute contrast to American TV.

While the Buddha Abides art show doesn't have the space for enormous installations, I do hope that artists are inspired by Ashes and Snow to expand their creative processes to include small installations this year. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

A la prochaine fois, ('til next time)
Lark