Saraceno and Green Hermeticism
As part of Alyce Santoro’s current exhibition at Gasser-Grunert Gallery, I will be joining Eve Andree Laramee and Dehlia Hannah to explore the application of “Green Hermeticism” to contemporary environmental concerns.
Christopher Bamford explains Green Hermeticism in terms of a sequence of mysteries: First is the mystery of matter. Second is the mystery of metamorphosis. Third is the mystery of intelligence that is capable of discerning patterns within this apparent chaos. It is the recognition of pattern that enables humans to connect with all forms of life, light, geology, and distant planets, and thereby become nurturing stewards of the planet.
5:30, Saturday January 19. Gasser-Grunert Gallery, 524 West 19th Street
Tomas Saraceno is one of the artists I will discuss, since works such as “Girasol”, articulate all three mysteries. The first mystery is the tangible sunflower. Its visual splendor embodies its hyper-responsiveness to sunshine, and its structure congeals the patterned unfolding of its growth over time.
This analogy can also be applied to the tangible camera lodged in the flower that shares an ‘organic’ responsiveness to the changing conditions of the environment. The camera only clicks when it is powered by ambient wind and light. The resulting video does not record the whims of the artist. As much as any sophisticated meteorological apparatus, it registers real world conditions with great accuracy. But it goes beyond data-collecting by responding ‘hermetically’, through the direct, sensual interaction between a living organism and its dynamic environment.