Fragmented Peace
is a series of works entitled
YOUAREWHATYOUTHINK
based on the image of Buddha. New York-based artist Judi Harvest
has undertaken a project of huge logistical proportions and significant
historical and contemporary connotations. Buddha’s original name
was Siddhartha, which means "one who had accomplished his aim."
In this body of work Harvest does so and deserves to be commended.
The Project: Through an edition of multiples, paintings, and a
monumental, steel and Murano glass sculpture, Harvest challenges
the viewer in Fragmented Peace. A new body of work that takes inspiration
from images of Buddha, the spiritual leader from the fifth and sixth
centuries B.C. The project included the large sculpture installation,
an edition of 50 Murano glass Buddhas, several paintings, and a
working team including architect, graphic designer, structural engineer,
translator, and documenters. The work is presented along with a
documentary video.
Through Southeast Asia, stylistic representations of Buddha have
formed over time. Judi Harvest has chosen a more modern looking
"happy Buddha," with wide grin, large belly, and great vivacity.
A mix of popular culture, cartoon, and caricature, this Buddha begs
to have his tummy rubbed and brings a smile to one’s face.
The Large Sculpture: The large sculpture, destined for a Piazza
in Venice to be on view during the Venice Biennale, is constructed
of steel loops, welded together, to hold chunks of Murano glass.
The center of the sculpture is left empty and illuminated from within.
At once a familiar object in an adverse surrounding and scale, it
is reminiscent of the inspiration Jeff Koons took in creating Puppy,
the 35 foot tall wire cage formed as a dog and covered in live plants
like a mammoth topiary, but with a whole different spiritual and
artistic bent.
The use of the glass, both a local point of pride and identity
in Venice, and as a translucent, reflective, material distinguishes
this outsized Buddha. Perhaps Harvest was inspired by "the world
is a burning house that is forever being destroyed and forever rebuilt,"
a quote from Buddha’s teachings. The colorful, glowing Buddha may
represent the turmoil facing the world today. The use of the chunks
of Murano glass, seemingly smooth and solid, actually multiply light
and are quite sharp.
The empty interior may also be symbolic of the non-religious nature
of this work compared to the spiritual vessel, which the sacred
originals represent. "During the consecration ceremony of a Tibetan
altar, monks ask the Buddha to inhabit the sculpture. Thereafter,
the sculpture no longer symbolically represents the Buddha Sakyamuni,
for Tibetan Buddhists believe that he now resides with the piece.
Continual offerings, music, and prayer preserve the presence of
the Buddha in the image."
In the large sculpture, Harvest leaves the center empty, perhaps
signifying an emptiness she feels in the world around her today.
This contrasts neatly with the limited edition sculptures, which
are solid glass and maintained in their own boxes, disallowing the
daily ritual of music and prayer to preserve the sanctified presence
within the sacred object.
Harvest is interested in the tensions created between the age-old
and enduring and the living and the fragile; the inner self and
external realities.
The Multiples: Of particular interest are the 50 Buddhas that
form an edition as part of this project. Each Buddha sculpture is
made by hand, using the lost wax process in Murano. Although the
general form is the same, no two are exactly alike. Each glass sculpture
retains a coating of white powder from the production process, the
amount of which varies from piece to piece. The powder, almost like
pristine dust, Harvest says, "serves as a reminder that everything,
including the mind, gathers dust and it is up to the individual
to retain or remove it."
Repetition: Is it possible to separate images of Buddha from the
religion he inspired? Harvest presents us with a unique situation.
Taken out of their devout context, these sculptures and paintings
become repetitive representations of a familiar image. Other artists
who had done so include the pop artists, not least of which was
Warhol with his Brillo boxes and Marilyn Monroes, for example. What
was the point of those larger than life cans of Campbell’s Soup?
To show us that what we take for granted can inspire; and cause
us to question.
Presentation: Harvest has designed special cases for each Buddha,
in either gray ultra suede or faux black crocodile. These boxes,
reminiscent of the traveling altars used by missionaries in so many
religions worldwide over time, enhance the spiritual nature of the
Buddha sculptural theme. However, they also isolate each Buddha
as they go forth alone to new homes of happy collectors. Their existence
can be an open one or a closed one, based on each individual’s interest
in imbuing each sculpture with its own artistic spirituality through
care, love, and respect.
Buddha in Contemporary Art and Culture: Buddha as a figure appears
again and again throughout the centuries and has been more recently
depicted by such artists as Nam June Paik and Wim Delvoye either
directly or indirectly. In each of these artists’ works, Buddha
takes on a commentary of contemporary culture in conflict. In Nam
June Paik’s Video Buddha (1976-1978) and Buddha Re-Incarnated (1994),
he creates a metaphor for contemplation and he also questions the
nature of the connection between the mind and objective reality,
as influenced by a technologically ever changing world.
About the Artist and Her Art: Harvest is not calling for a Buddhist
world. In her catalogue essay, she sights the need to create art,
to understand interconnectedness, to emerge from recent events,
such as 9/11 and the Iraq conflict, in a personal and public realm
of peace. Very Buddhist, but not quite. For what Harvest really
asserts is the need for creativity, the preserving of empty space
to permit new ideas… it is a universal call for seeking out solutions
in new ways. Fragmented Peace is truly a double entendre. Harvest,
through choosing the Buddhist image, is forcing the viewer to look
beyond the obvious accepted portrayal of the happy Buddha, to the
underlying meaning in the work itself.
Previous works by Harvest have sought to create metaphors for
real events in the world. Perhaps Fragmented Peace is a metaphor
for joining together and promoting peace in our time. If Harvest
has a Muse in her work, it is herself and the incredibly rich times
in which she lives. Her work is not about tearing down society and
its accomplishments, but rather looking to a hopeful future where
creativity continues to flourish. If, as Carl Jung has said, "imagination
and intuition are vital to our understanding," then Harvest is truly
assuming the mantle of an enlightened artist.
Paul Sharpe
Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art
New York City, April 2003