Cognizance

May 2018

Glass - Wood - Acrylic Paint

These are some images of an early sculpture titled “Cognizance” that I had finished in undergrad while in Tyler School of art from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2018. This was done in the spring time of the last semester of school. Combining wood, glass and acrylic paint into a single form was something that I had been interested in making a reality for as long as I’ve known about glass as a sculptural medium; and this was the first attempt that I consider successful in that regard.

There were originally three of these pedestals that were arranged in a triangular pattern surrounding another sculpture titled “The Infinite Muse.” This was my attempt at a solo exhibition as a part of my senior thesis in college. The pedestals themselves are carved wood that was painting in acrylic paint. The brain on top of the pedestal is blown and carved bullseye glass. The cipher for my paintings also extends to the sculptures I make.

Red: Negative

Blue: Positive

Purple: Love, Unity, Divinity

Black: Void, Emptiness

Circular Mandelbrot forms: Representations of the unseen, all knowing, all loving mind of the universe

White: Pure light, Solar Conciousness, Christ Conciousness

Gold: precious, sacred, End result of alchemical transmutation

Rainbow: Visible light spectrum of human beings, Representation of the unique human experience

In this case the overall blackness of this sculpture is indeed a representation of the void. The carving into both the glass and the wood is deliberate and intentional; it represents layers of our reality being laid bare in front of the viewer. The rainbow in the brains is a representation of the human experience and perspective. In the pedestal itself the abstract form of the divine mother is carved from the void to reveal the duality of self and mind. The duality of self and mind is two parts to a greater whole which purple is a representation of. In this sense “Cognizance” is a totem of higher awareness and consciousness; in other words being able to see yourself and the “other” not as completely separate things but as extremely complex parts of the greater mind of the universe.