Plato's Theory . 16x20 . 2005



Still trying to make light shine through darkness. This is actually a remix of an earlier painting I did in 2004. My friend suggested I start doing paintings multiple times to see how they changed and improved with each revision. I called it (and the original) "Plato's Theory," based on his philosophy that we all started as circles and when we angered the gods, they punished us by splitting us evenly in half. We must then search the universe for our other half, and only when we find it are we whole and complete again. Come to think of it, Plato's theory better represents part of what inspires me to paint in general. Hmm. Maybe I'll do it again. Jyro said to do it 8 times. Whew.

1 comment:

Kittie M. said...

when the earth was still flat, and the clouds made of fire, and mountains went up to the sky sometimes higher....folks roamed the earth, like big rolling kegs. they had two sets of arms, they had two sets of legs. they had two faces peering out of one giant head, so they could watch all around them as they talked while they read and they never knew nothing of love, it was before the origin of love.

now there was two sexes then one that looked like two men glued up back to back they called them children of the sun. and similar in shape and girth was the children of the earth they looked like two girls rolled up in one. and the children of the moon looked like a fork shoved on a spoon it was part sun part earth part daughter part son....it was the origin of love.

now the gods grew quite scared of our strength and defiance and thor said 'im gonna kill em all with my hammer like i killed the giants.' but zeus said 'no, you better let me use my lightning like scissors like i cut the legs off of whales and dinosaurs into lizards.' then he grabbed up some bolts, he let out a laugh said i'll cut em right down the middle gonna split them right up in half. then some storm clouds gathered above into great balls of fire....

and the fire shot down from the sky in bolts like shining blades of a knife, and they ripped right through the flesh of the children of the sun and the moon and the earth. and some indian god sewed the wound up into a whole brought it round to our bellies to remind us of the price we paid. and osiris and the gods of nile gathered up a huge storm, a flood of wind and rain a sea of tidal waves to wash us all away and if we don't behave they'll cut us down again..and we'll be hopping around on one foot, looking through one eye.

the last time i saw you, we had just split in two, you were looking at me and i was looking at you...you had a way so familiar i could not recognize coz you had blood on your face and i had blood in my eyes, but i could tell by your expression that the pain down in your soul was the same as the one down in mine...thats the pain, that cuts a straight line down through the heart, we call it love.

we wrapped our arms around each other, tried to shove ourselves back together we were making love, making love. it was a cold dark evening such a long time ago when by the mighty hand of jove...it was a sad story how we became lonely two legged creatures, the story of the origin of love, the origin of love, thats the origin of love....