Videos and Artist Statement
Artist Statement
For me art is a spiritual practice. It is a way to take the inward journey towards the source of essence. In my experience, creating is literally a way to seek out and join with Divine consciousness that is creation itself. It is a practice of entheos, the search for the inner Lord. Art allows me to lose and find myself, dismantle and resurrect myself over and over again. It is a practice of revelation. It is the place where ego and soul meet and dissolve into each other. It is also a practice that scares me, excites me, comforts me, and ordains me as a human being.
Video: “Clay and Charcoal: A Collaboration with Fire, Cancer…and earth, water, air, and space…”
The work in this video reflects a series of unconscious images that surfaced shortly after the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Unknown to me at the time, they reflected elements of my own inner biology and the surgery that was yet to come. Each image was an accurate metaphor that represented biological truth combined with teleological prophecy for what was to become a profound life changing event. The clay pots insisted on being dark, internal, and visceral. They represent places deep inside a man’s body where life giving fluids exist as emerging potential. Prostate cancer means many things including the removal of the gland in order to save a life. Therefore, there is a quality of fragility and resiliency imbedded within each piece. And, at the core of the series, there is a celebratory nature to the artwork. From entheos we get enthusiasm. It is here that the clay brought me, to enthusiasm for life in its myriad forms.
Michael A. Franklin, PhD, ATR-BC
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