Yesterday, during one of our many gypsy wanderings around San Diego County, Natalie and I stopped at the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas. It's not a gallery or museum, but a studio in which artists come and stay for a residency. The artists' previous works are displayed, but the coolest part is that the artist can be viewed creating a new piece of art and visitors can be witnesses to the combination of genius, inspiration, and hard work that is necessary for creation. Unfortunately the most recent artist, Spaniard Carlos Vega, had just left, but we did get to see his new completed project.
In this particular piece, Vega was inspired by a woman who had a near death experience. She claimed that only after death had stared her in the face, she realized how close to death she had always been. Only after this experience did she feel fully awake and aware of all the world had to offer. In the piece, Vega depicts several people, all sleeping contentedly, wrapped in blankets, safe and protected. This represents the woman before her deathly encounter, as well as the vast majority of earth's inhabitants. So many people benignly coast through life, going through the motions that society deems necessary, never once lifting their eyes high enough to see the horizon, let alone anything that might lie past it.
I honestly don't know how I got to the mindset I'm in, or how I prevented my eyes from glazing over into apathetic acceptance, but I know I didn't need a near death experience to realize how awake I am. The past few weeks have again reiterated exactly how strong my zest for life is, especially compared to those sleeping around me. In the words of a fellow adventurer, Everett Ruess, "I have known too much the depths of life already" and I could never settle for complacency.
In this particular piece, Vega was inspired by a woman who had a near death experience. She claimed that only after death had stared her in the face, she realized how close to death she had always been. Only after this experience did she feel fully awake and aware of all the world had to offer. In the piece, Vega depicts several people, all sleeping contentedly, wrapped in blankets, safe and protected. This represents the woman before her deathly encounter, as well as the vast majority of earth's inhabitants. So many people benignly coast through life, going through the motions that society deems necessary, never once lifting their eyes high enough to see the horizon, let alone anything that might lie past it.
I honestly don't know how I got to the mindset I'm in, or how I prevented my eyes from glazing over into apathetic acceptance, but I know I didn't need a near death experience to realize how awake I am. The past few weeks have again reiterated exactly how strong my zest for life is, especially compared to those sleeping around me. In the words of a fellow adventurer, Everett Ruess, "I have known too much the depths of life already" and I could never settle for complacency.
This isn't the piece I was describing, but another one done by Vega entitled Don't Tell Me You Can't. It depicts a man being burdened by a donkey wearing a false set of antlers. The antlers are filled with pictures of iconic, successful people. The man is bent over, weighed down by his desire for success, but if he only had the courage to stand up, the donkey would fall off his back and he would be free to pursue his dreams.
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