I have come to accept the synchronicity that plays a major part in my life and in my art – those beyond coincidental moments that make no rational sense but resonate within, often in profound ways.
Thanks to an English teacher who turned me on to Carl Jung and his book “Man And His Symbols,” I no longer freak out over these unexplained phenomena. In fact, I fully embrace them, as confusing and startling as they sometimes can be.
The separation of the head and the heart has been a reoccurring theme in my art going back to the early 80’s, and I believe it’s recurring due to not having worked out the obvious symbology in my own life.
For the past ten months I’ve taken my three dogs on a morning walk with my iPhone 6 in tow, snapping a daily photo and posting it to Instagram and Facebook.
Recently on my walk, almost a mile from my house on the side of our dirt road, I spotted something strange – a broken coffee mug.
It turned out to be my broken coffee mug, designed and given to me by one of my closest friends, Lenny Addorisio – a Key West artist who had made several mugs to promote his latest art book.
How the mug ended up on the side of the road was a mystery. How the mug was broken in pieces became the synchronicity.
The photo above describes it fully – the figure cleanly split, its head on one side, heart on the other, with the words, “The obstacle is the path.”
It was a jolt that instantly grabbed my attention.
And the meaning? It’s still not absolutely clear, but have faith that more will be revealed.
In the meantime, I will probably take those broken ceramic pieces and incorporate them into a new piece of art. Lenny and I have often talked about collaborating on a series of work together. Maybe this will be the start.
Here’s some of my other works with the separation of the head and heart theme:
Swallowing Fear – Screenprint – 1988
The Separation – Photograph – 2011
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