Crypticism

I would like to redefine Contemporary Art. The diptych needs to be repainted and varnished.

Lets start with the word Art. A French art critic said in the Nineteen Century , it is true I do not know what Art is but I certainly know what Art is not. Unable to give a definition of Art we will define Art by its brillant heritage that exist until 1910.We will call Art Velasquez , we will call Art Rembrandt , we will call Art Messerschmidt , we will call Art Rodin , we will call Art the great Jacek Malczewski and a few others.Art could be a very high and unusual capacity , emotional , perceptive and intellectual , to render who we are through a visual form combined with a respect and devotion to the chosen craft.

Lets follow with the word Contemporary. I believe every Art has been contemporary of there own times.In my opinion Contemporary means to be able to express the situation of man in front of his existence in the segment of history that the artist lives in.If my definition of Contemporary Art is true what we call commonly Contemporary Art is neither Art neither Contemporary.

Art is the history of existence.

I was never able to separate the history of human beliefs with the history of art.I believe history of religion as well its counter-part the history of loosing religion has an enormous impact on masterpieces in many civilizations.Of course we do not talk about decorative art here that has an history of its own.I believe great Art and specially Art that focuses on the human figure ( the body being a symbol of existence ) goes hand in hand with the history of religion , because history of religion or its reverse history of atheism is nothing else but how man feels about his existence. The rendering of that state of the entire human race is why I find Art incredible to me. When you deal with the history of religion or the history of nihilism you are dealing with the history of the human race in front of meaning. For almost nineteen centuries Art was linked to religion and after 1910 what Nietzsche called the Death of God tainted the Arts for a century.

In this triptych of civilization , I see a third panel as being a new birth for the arts , the 21 century is going in my opinion to create an Art that is neither religious and neither atheistic but mystic. Humanity failed to adore and failed to hate.To express the vision of the mystical millenium my art is re-interpreting al the vocabulary of any attempt of the human race to construct some meaning , cross , vortex , excommunication , grimoire , levitation , resurrection , crypticisms of all sorts to try to describe a world were man is trying to generate his own religion.I believe Art takes a soul and puts it in another place for a moment or another dimension or may be the only dimension.Great Art can bring in the souls a souvenir of a spiritual place that they never seen before.A new challenge for Art has risen and that is to show the post-nihilistic dimensions of life through the human figure and show the needs of beliefs of man who has no official religions to rely on.It is not because that religions disappear that the need for religions disappear in man.I see the new millenium as a trial for man to find new reasons to believe , trying to build a post-God spirituality. Each of my statues show the evolution and the adventure of this man.I believe we can call this man the contemporary man.

Be hell , be heaven and be humanity and may the figure of man be re-morphed in the wonders of Crypticism.

A Gothic Art

In october 2007 the Department of Theology of the University of Loyola invited me to speak about the future of Art and Religion . They characterized me as a medieval sculptor. The Gothic Art only existed for two centuries , the twelve century and the thirteen century. . The cathedrals of the twelve century were built by alchemists.The Gothic Art of the twelve century is based on two laws : the first one is that there is a sacred geometry in each cathedral that connects heaven and earth and the second law has been established by the monk Bernard de Clairvaux (1090-1153) spiritual master of the Cistercian order is that Art should have a meaning , it should have an influence on men , that art was made for men to decipher there existence , true art should be at the service of revelation.In 1118 , 9 knights went to Jerusalem to offer free protection to the king of Jerusalem Baldwin the Second.The king hosted them in the Temple of Solomon.In fact they were here for the Arch of the Covenant which is supposed to be burried under the temple , the Archa Cederis. In 1128 when some of the knights came back in France Gothic Cathedrals started being built for 150 years.The return of the knights from Jerusalem coincides with the birth of Gothic Art.What we know about Alchemy is that it can transform metals into other metals may be gold. There is a second meaning to Alchemy is to transform humanity through Art. Cathedrals of the twelve century had this role to psychologically , physiologically operate the transmutation of man through mystical geometry.

The architectural form that defines Gothic as a style is the ogive. But there is more to it than just a style.The alchemy is in the ogive.This form has an effect on man , man sees in the ogive the verticality of his existence it acts on the consciousness and gives a desire to stand and to elevate . Even the stain-glasses from the twelve century, theire color were concieved by a secret formula fabricated by alchemists.The stain glasses from the middle-ages would filter every rays of the sun that are wrong for man to receive the purest light.Needless to say that they where buried with there secrets and there is no stain-glasses after the thirteen century.

The sites of the Cathedrals of the twelve century where found by geomancers who find sacred places. Most of the Cathedrals have been built on Celtic sacred mountains.In these places there is a telluric current that connects heaven and earth through the spine of man and through the pilasters of the Churches.

Some of these cathedrals are constructed geometrically on seven axis , which is three axis added to four axis which is the spirit of truth descending into reality. The incarnation of God in Art.
I always had curiosity for the statues of the twelve century but I am much less overwhelmed by them than by the Churches themselves.Then I thought why don t I create an Art where man himself would have a hidden sacred geometry , where man him-self would become the symbol , where man him-self would become the passage between worlds , where man him-self becomes the cathedral. We don't know if these knights found the Archa Cederis , but the best way to hide something is to put it in the day light , and it might very well be that the Cathedrals are a physical replica of the Archa Cederis with all its powers within.It is said that a man who comes inside a Cathedral of the twelve century when he comes out he his not exactly the same man.

Gothic Art is above everything else entirely directed towards revelation.I remember the night of the opening, in the middle of all these theologians and other beautiful minds my statue was on the terrace that overlooks the city of Los-Angeles and the light on the statue cast a perfect shadow of a cross on the wall of the University.

The Castle Coubertin

In May 2007 a Parisian collector calls me in my studio in Hollywood.He already was familiar with my work as in 2006 he bought my piece The Resurrection of the Head. This man whom I will not name to protect his privacy has always had a profound emotion for sculpture , he collected Brancusi and Camille Claudel.He tells me on the phone I just bought a Manor from the Fifteen Century near Deauville in France and I want you to do the door of the Manor.At the time I was giving most of my work to the foundry of the Getty Museum but I decided to go to France and build the door on location.
I arrived to the Fondation Coubertin who hosted me for the project.A car was waiting for me at the train station who brought me to the domain of the Baron de Coubertin. There was a magnificent sculpture garden in the middle of woods that separate the foundry from the castle. They gave me the key of the Castle were I was living by myself. The Fondation Coubertin is a remarquable institution , one of the best foundry in the world , they restaured the statues on top of the roof of the Opera Garnier in Paris , they built the Gate of Hell for Stanford University , the president of the Foundation is doing a great work taking care of the Foundation his work received Le Prix Mont-Blanc pour la Culture in 2009.As I was working on my door , many sculptors were passing through my studio that was installed inside the foundry.I saw the massive silhouette of Ousmane Sow checking on his own statues , he looked like a living statue him self with great presence , and then I saw the Academician Cardot who complimented me on the way I sculpt hands and I complimented him on his Churchill , Degaulle and Jefferson which now grace the streets of Paris. But the greatest human and artistic discovery for me was to meet this extraordinary Norvegian sculptor who was preparing a larger than life human figure with the head looking down.His work has this rare quality when you are not sure if you are looking at a soul or at a body.
Arriving from California , I worked mostly at night , from midnight until 6 in the morning with coffee , cigarettes ( American Spirit the Blu pack ) , clay and the haunting songs of the owls.One night as I was taking a pause , I walked in the foundry and enter in the room near by , you have to understand that this foundry is like a hollywood movie studio the ceilings are 50 feet high (15 meters), I enter and I see The Gate of Hell of Rodin in plaster floating above the ground , suspended by chains and metallic beams into the air.
Every morning when the sun was rising I was going back to the Castle , a pregnant cat was sitting on the steps to whom I opened the doors.This cat rather aristocratic decided to sleep on the beautiful burgundy velvet sofa of the Castle.I finished the door in 24 days and I went back to California.The door is now installed and opens by itself with a secret code.The collector had the beautiful idea to surround it by a corridor in glass to protect the art from the discoloring of the rain.