Chinese Actor

Cosmos and Taxis Journal Front and Back Cover with Chinese Actor

Chinese Actor is the widest finished work in my Lands and Peoples series, and was executed over a three-year period during my relocation from California to Maine. This has resonance with traditional Chinese theatre — plays would sometimes take days to perform. Begun in a sublet studio in Somerville in the summer of 2004, and completed in 2007, after moving into my new studio in Maine, I worked on the majority of the piece in a corner in my living room. Given the space constraints, I worked on the roll in small sections at a time, other portions of the painting being completely obscured. This instituted a highly novel way of working for me, the element of the unknown took on a metaphorical significance akin to the spontaneity of live performance.

I was finally able to unroll it in its entirety in my new studio, and the ensuing year was spent finishing the piece, being able to view its full scope and hidden surprises. The format for this work alludes to Cinemascope (ultimate mass media scroll), blending the languages of cinema, theatrics, and cultural history. Add to the mix my marks, which at the time connoted to me the underlying cosmic code, quantum physics and biological structures which are responsible for the evolution of life on the planet – in itself the ultimate epic narrative.

Chinese Actor 2004-2007 (middle and left side)