• Artist Statement


• “The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts”

 
 
The exhibit is, as the name suggests, composed of disparate materials including steel girders, rocks, sticks, bark, decaying wood, oak galls, metal paraphernalia, carved or slabbed ceramics, assembled into geegaws(1) or other compositions with an aleatoric(2) spontaneity that hopefully would make musician and composer John Cage proud. 
 
In some works, the natural form itself is honored, particularly with rocks, inspired by the Japanese tradition of suiseki (3)
 
The paintings, likewise, are composed of a wide range of materials including sand, oak gall ink (4), rust, ground minerals, and house paint. The images are inspired by readings in quantum physics, images from the James Webb Space Telescope, observations in nature, and sometimes simply what the material itself suggests. 
 
William Ishmael
September 2023
 
(1) gew·gaw
/ˈɡyo͞oˌɡô,ˈɡyo͞oˌɡä/
noun
A showy thing, especially one that is useless or worthless.
"a house full of Victorian gewgaws"
 
(2)  a·le·a·to·ry
/ˈālēəˌtôrē/
adjective: aleatoric
Depending on the throw of a dice or on chance; random.
o      relating to or denoting music or other forms of art involving elements of random choice (sometimes using statistical or computer techniques)
o      Origin. late 17th century: from Latin aleatorius, from aleator ‘dice player’, from alea ‘die’,=

(3) sui·seki  …see description 
 
(4) oak gall ink …see description      

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