Myth & Medium

Reading at Borders - San Mateo

2008-10-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

The California Writers Club is a great and active organization. Once a month the Peninsula branch has a meeting with great speakers. Last months meeting had Alice Wilson-Fried and Laurel Anne Hill speaking about the writing process in their two very unique novels. This month, this next Saturday, has Nick Taylor talking about his first novel The Disagreement.

Tonight, however, was The California Writers Club open mic at Borders Books and Music in San Mateo, CA. It was a great evening with lots of wonderful writers reading their latest works.

I read a chapter from Myth and Medium, The Myth of Prometheus. It was nice to read in the casual atmosphere in the company of the other fine authors.

If you are a writer in the Bay Area, I highly recommend coming to one of the California Writers Club events.

Tomorrow evening at 7:30, Phil Cousineau is reading from his latest book Stoking the Creative Fires at East/West Bookstore in Mountain View, CA. I’m looking forward to Phil’s talk. I’ll let you know how it went.

The Beyond Cancer Art Project: The Triumph of Early Detection

2007-07-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Today, JULY 6 - 25, 2007
The Beyond Cancer Art Project:
Triumph of Early Detection
is presented in partnership with The Canary Foundation in the Main Gallery, downtown Palo Alto.

Two of my prints are in the show: Uncertainty and Communication. Uncertainty was chosen for the postcard, which was mailed out at the end of last month. It was nice to see how the graphic designer had created the design around the print. The reception and awards ceremony is today at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you there!

It Ain’t Charlton Heston

2007-06-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

The Mything Links website ( http://www.mythinglinks.org/) recently added a section on Judaism in the Near East section of the site. Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D., writer, editor, and webmaster asked if she could use my print Moses for this Hebrew Folklore and Mythology section of Mything Links. The image is of Moses parting the Red Sea within the Jewish story of Exodus, that has become a part of the world’s three monotheistic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam.)

The book Myth and Medium describes the piece:
Moses
15"x22.25"
3 color embossed relief print. Prints tan, brown, and blue. Also available with the emboss only.
I enjoy the image of Moses as a shaman—a naked man vulnerable to elements he coordinates through invisible relationships strengthened by projecting his consciousness into other realms. The print is an ironic image in that Moses’ parting of the Red Sea represents the political and perceptual choice of a linear belief system in opposition to the surrounding mythologies that encouraged a wide range of interpenetrating and mutually dynamic relationships.

Printing for the people

2007-06-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Palo Alto Weekly writer, Rebecca Wallace wrote an article about the current print exhibit at the Pacific Art League’s Norton Gallery. Entitled Printing for the people the article states that the, “Influential medium gets the spotlight in exhibit showing many types of printmaking.”

A the opening of the exhibit, Printmakers of the Pacific Art League, Kent Maske, a Foothill College art professor and printmaker, gave a lecture about the influence of printmaking in Western history. Printmaking was the art medium that allowed for the greatest spread of ideas and culture.

Body Heat the 4-color reduction woodblock print was displayed at the exhibit.

The book Myth & Medium describes the piece as follows:
Body Heat
26.25"x20.25"
4-color reduction block print. Translucent yellow, green, blue, and navy blue.

While working on this print I was absorbed in the recognition of the body as an expression of energy and a manifestation of consciousness. A slight transparency was added to some of the inks to communicate the simultaneity of our embodied self-expression.

Printmakers of the Pacific Art League will be on display from JUNE 1 - 27, 2007.

Palo Alto Weekly Writeup

2007-06-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Palo Alto Weekly had a writeup of the current exibit Printmakers of Pacific Art League. I was happy to see that they used an image of my print Body Heat in the newspaper. The writeup read as follows.

The Pacific Art League opens an exhibit of linocut, etching and monotype works with a reception on June 1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The printmakers have created works using hybrid forms of traditional and modern processes. The exhibit runs through June 30 at the Norton Gallery at the Pacific Art League, 668 Ramona St. in Palo Alto, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Go to www.pacificartleague.org.

From Darkness–Light

2007-05-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Two of my pieces were recently picked to be in the show Figures–Human and Anatomical at the Pacific Art League’s Main Gallery:
668 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301.

The show is from MAY 1 - 24, 2007.

One piece included in the show is:

From Darkness–Light
32”x20.25”
2-color woodblock bleed print. Brown and black inks on handmade paper.
The book Myth and Medium describes the piece as follows: “The modified Sukhasana pose is appropriate for grounding, relaxing, and maintaining awareness. In the darkness of one’s own silence there is the brilliant flame of consciousness.”

Figures- Human and Anatomical: MAY 1 - 24, 2007

2007-05-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Two of my pieces were recently picked to be in the show Figures- Human and Anatomical at the Pacific Art League's Main Gallery:
668 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301.

The show is from MAY 1 - 24, 2007. The reception is this Friday.

One piece included in the show is:

Gaia
25”x30”
Acrylic on masonite.
The book Myth and Medium describes the piece as follows: "Gaia is the Greek goddess of Earth. Her mandalic continuity has been re-invoked by our contemporary Ecology movements."

PCA/ACA Conference 2007

2007-04-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

The Mythology and Technology panel presented during the second day of the PCA/ACA Conference at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. Anais N. Spitzer from Pacifica Graduate Institute was the chair.

The first presenter was Katharyn M. Privett from Auburn University who presented on Sacred Cyborgs and 21st Century Goddesses. Ms. Privett discussed the cyborg as a contemporary model for femininity in a technological society. She also gave examples of contemporary role models who have developed fuller potentials than this limited robotic image.

I was the second presenter and spoke about Myth and the Machine, giving a presentation on the technological fantasies of global civilization and contrasted them with the sustaining values of living mythological communities.

The third presenter was Garrison LeMasters from Catholic University who spoke on Trickster Makes this (Virtual) World: Ludic Myth in Liminal Space. Mr. Lemaster’s presentation explored the ontological freedom expressed in trickster online gamers.

The final presenter was Colette Kavanagh from Pacifica Graduate Institute who presented on The Webcam as the “Evil Eye” in Modern Culture. Ms. Kavanagh discussed the cultural significance of the “evil eye” in European and Middle Eastern culture and demonstrated how the webcams of sexual predators reify in a destructive way this cross-cultural mytheme.

There was a good turn out for the panel and afterwards a lively discussion started by the chair, Ms. Spitzer.

Mythic Art on Ebay

2007-03-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
I have just begun the process of selling my prints on eBay. I don’t know much about the ins-and-outs of eBay selling, but am anxious to learn.

Last Sunday, I uploaded nine works of art to the eBay site. The prints are:

The Minotaur: Woodblock Print, Dave Alber LTD, SIG
Communication: Dave Alber, Digital Etching, LTD, SIG
Narcissus: Dave Alber, lithograph, LTD, SIG
From Darkness Light: Dave Alber, 2-color Woodblock, LTD, SIG
Awake: Dave Alber, 2-color Woodblock, LTD, SIG
Model & Press: Dave Alber, 2-Color litho, LTD, SIG
Body Heat: Dave Alber, 4-color Woodblock, LTD, SIG
Living Flesh: Dave Alber, 4-color Woodblock, LTD, SIG
Ravenous Creates a Human: Dave Alber, Etching, LTD, SIG

The headline of this blog links to an overview of all the eBay art items.
Hope you enjoy!
Dave

Review: Bazaar Stories by Hemila Pedram

2007-03-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

One of a Kind Travel Adventure

Hemila Pedram’s Bazaar Stories is more than a travel diary through the soul of Iran, but a journey of physical and spiritual healing—an adventure into the resplendent generosity of the human heart. Hemila takes her reader with her on walks through the winding streets of Persian bazaars to encounter delightful characters of profound kindness or subtle insight. Artists and craftspeople, shopkeepers, and people of all walks of life tell their stories and offer their visions of happiness on the streets of this often misrepresented country.

Hemila presents a universal spiritual vision, not of one religion or another, but from a grounded foundation of human generosity that will always surprise us around every corner. This is a timely book of subtle beauty and quiet power. I highly recommend it!

Alan May

2007-03-06T16:07:00.000-08:00

During the second month of Pacific Prints at Pacific Art League, Alan May lead a tour around the print exhibition. Alan commented on the various works, from his experience and finely tuned sense of aesthetics. Alan explored each print with quiet intensity and unpacked the variety of techniques with comfortable ease.

In his long career as a printmaker, Alan May has developed a number of new techniques in printmaking. Particularly, he engineered easy and safe non-toxic etching techniques. His style has the simple graphic quality of some of the best illustrators.

Stopping at my print the Minotaur, Alan said, “This beautiful print is a great example of a chiaroscuro print. It uses two or three blocks to get the wonderful effect of the dark shadows. One of the difficulties of the cutting of this print is all of the cross hatching. What the artist had to do was cut out all of the space between the lines, a lot of work. A lovely print!”

To the left is a version of this same print in dark brown and black inks.

This work and others will be up for sale on Ebay next week.

Mythopoetry.com

2007-02-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already checked out Stephanie Pope's Mythopoetry.com site, please do so.

In a series of essays, Stephanie worked the Janus image and the theme of a coin with two faces as a starting off point for discussing American identity, politics, images, and fantasies. Of itself, Stephanie’s style is fascinating. She maintains a dialogue between forms, allowing them to unpack themselves of their own. She does not concretized, limit, or “factualize” phenomena, but rather, holds a synthetic dialectic with a pantheon of forms that decompress their significations. There is no judgment in her writing, only images dreaming themselves into the phenomenal world.

The Mythopoetry site is here:
http://www.mythopoetry.com

Here Janus essays here:
http://www.mythopoetry.com/dialogs/archives_day-log.html

And an email corrospondece between the two of us here:
http://www.mythopoetry.com/dialogs/twofaces_onecoin_comments.html

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.
Cheers,
Dave

What’s New

2007-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time between posts. Here is what’s new.

Mythic Art was at the Minds Eye Gallery in Campbell, California. A link below has information on the Press Release:

http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200605/1148419266.html

The PCA Conference on Mythology in Contemporary Culture has released more information. I will be speaking on the 6th sub-panel Mythology and Technology. My talk will be entitled Myth vs. the Machine. It will be Easter weekend on Friday April 6th, 2007. Between 8 and 9:30 A.M.

An essay on Mythic Art is online at:
http://www.toursandtales.com/onlinestories/Alber-Dave-Power-of-Mythic-Art.htm

The Pacific Prints at Pacific Art League, 13th Biennial exhibition was successful. A lot of people visited the gallery in downtown Palo Alto. At the opening, in the loft upstairs I had the opportunity to answer a few questions about the processes of printing, demonstrating some of the techniques within my print Heroic Potentiality. The print is an example of three intaglio techniques: engraving, dry point, and mezzotint. The print is featured in the book Myth & Medium, where I describe the creative process as follows:

I was sitting on my front porch working on a small plaster sculpture that I felt expressed something of the eternal value of heroism (what Campbell described as the primary mythological enigma in his The Hero with a Thousand Faces). The experience of carving promted me to write, “The blocky robust figure, his motion a white S-curve, face featureless, body hiding within plaster. The shape is one of infinite possibilities. An open life. A story without end. There is a forward stride. It speaks of the heroic, the confidence of knowledge and action. Life is like this. It’s a pattern, a possibility, a potentiality, and it’s hiding within the chiseled plaster.” That was the inspiration for this series of prints.

That’s all for now.

When I blog next I’ll tell you about seeing Master Printmaker Alan May examining my print The Minotaur. He turned around and addressed a circle of art collectors. What he had to say was very interesting.

Mythology in Contemporary Culture

2006-11-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

On Easter weekend next year I will be speaking at the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association's conference on Mythology in Contemporary Culture. The conference will be at Boston Marriott Copley Place, Boston, Massachusetts, April 4 - 7, 2007. There will be a four person panel on Mythology and Technology. The panel and lectures are as follows:

Name: Mythology and Technology
Chair: Anais N. Spitzer, Pacifica Graduate Institute

Sacred Cyborgs and 21st Century Goddesses
Katharyn M. Privett, Auburn University

Myth vs. The Machine
Dave Alber, Independent Scholar

Trickster Makes this (Virtual) World: Ludic Myth in Liminal Space
Garrison LeMasters, Catholic University

The Webcam as the “Evil Eye” in Modern Culture
Colette Kavanagh, Pacifica Graduate Institute

I am looking forward to the lecture. Especially, since the material for the lecture will also be a book that will be released in 2008. More on this in future posts.

Pacific Prints at Pacific Art League, 13th Biennial exhibition

2006-10-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of my prints has been accepted into the juried exhibition Pacific Prints, which is the premier original print competition for the Pacific states. This 13th biennial exhibition is presented by the Pacific Art League. The exhibit runs from October 4 - November 23, 2006 in the Main Gallery and above in the Elizabeth Norton Studio. The juror was Joseph Zirker who has been an innovator in printmaking for over 40 years. A limited edition book was made for the exhibit. Sponsors for Pacific Prints include: Private Bank, University Art, Accent Arts, and Graphic Chemical.

The accepted print is entitled The Minotaur. It is a two-color woodblock print in ochre and brown inks. The image is 11"x13". It is displayed in a handsome wooden frame. The print is also available in brown and black inks.

The novel Fried Chicken Minotaur represents my four years spent with this great mythological enigma. The two-color print contains a self-portrait, a monster that was once worshipped as a god, an artist’s tools, and inspiration in the body of a woman. The Minotaur as an enigma speaks volumes about who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. Our best and worst are mutilated in the anguish of the present moment. However, the monster’s self-recognition as being a god is all that is required for love and bliss. The pathos of the myth of the Minotaur is almost unbearable to me. Fried Chicken Minotaur describes it, “The Minotaur. Once a God. And always. Forever present. The power of force behind every virtue. And virtue unheeded—the darkest vice. Bellowing unreconcilable anger at the shadow of past beatitude.”

Another piece is also on display upstairs in the Pacific Art League print room. The piece is entitled Heroic Potentiality. I will write more on that later.

Enjoy the link!

http://www.pacificartleague.org/exhibits/pacific_prints2006/entries/pp_entries1.html

PCA/ACA: Mythology in Contemporary Culture

2006-09-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

I was recently invited to speak on The Mythology in Contemporary Culture panel at the PCA/ACA conference. (Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association.) The conference will be April 4-7, 2007 in Boston Massachusetts. The organizer of the mythology panel is Anais Spitzer, a fellow graduate of Pacific Graduate Institute. My talk is entitled ‘Myth vs. the Machine’ and is about technology as a force affecting both the Western mythological traditions and indigenous traditions. CDs of the material will be on sale at the time, a portion of the proceeds will go to help endangered cultures.

Some future art will be related to this project. I will keep you informed.

Welcome to Myth & Medium

2006-09-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting Myth & Medium. This site is dedicated to mythological art. It will have images of contemporary mythic art and often demonstrate its relationship to the long historical tradition of mythic art. Throughout history most art was mythological. This site is a way of continuing in what I believe is the most significant purpose of art.

Enjoy the posts. I hope that you find the site as rewarding as it has been for me to put it together. Hope to see you coming back to the site often.

Warm regards,
Dave Alber, M.A.

Artist Statement

2006-08-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

My artist statement is below. In future posts I will elaborate on the statement and provide examples of how it is expressed through my art.

Dave Alber: Artist Statement.

My artwork is about myth and medium.

My compositions are translucent to mythological themes. They are translucent because the participant is given a glimpse into the simultaneity of the present moment, the artistic vision, and the mythological theme underlying the work. This mythological communion is about breaking down the walls that separate artist from participant, participant from subject, subject from mythological themes, and mythological themes from participant. Mythological communion is about seeing into the nature of reality. It’s about recognizing everything around us as symbolic transmissions of the eternal values of myth.

Whether printed in opaque ink or drawn in charcoal, my compositions are translucent in medium. They are translucent because each medium is specific to achieving an experience of mythological communion within the work. I work in acrylic, charcoal, mixed media, and a variety of printmaking techniques. I believe that the artist and participant themselves must be translucent mediums if they are to experience and transmit an expression of eternal values.

Being present is being a medium for eternal values. That is the point to my work.