Serie de Renacimiento began in 1987 after I received a back injury as the result of a car accident. Because I continued to suffer chronic pain as the result of my injury, I became very interested in my recovery and the restoration of my health. This led me, in turn, to the medical causes of my problems and the architectural framework of the human form, the skeleton. Somehow I felt that if I could understand the complex workings of the spinal column and nervous system, then I could, in turn, influence my recovery.
My accident triggered several recurring interests. First I turned to the anatomical notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo’s notebooks have always held a fascination for me because they document the process of thought. Just as Cezanne discovered the way we actually “see”, that is – in visual fragments, Leonardo’s notebooks suggests that creative thought is also fragmented.
Second, although Leonardo’s ideas may be fragmented, his exploration of drawing as a final visual statement rather than a “draft” of an idea is not. I feel these “thought fragments” are visually complete in themselves, they need not be “sketches” or “drafts” for anything further. Although Leonardo’s strange juxtapositioning of images may be mysterious and even obtuse, his compositions are always visually “tight” and masterly crafted.
Third, an interest not only in the skeleton, but the structure and interconnectedness of man and his environment. Somehow, for me, the human psyche and its relationship to nature and the universe could be explored via an aqueduct next to a bird’s nest, the Florence Cathedral’s duomo opposite the human skull, a monolithic structure juxtapositioned from a bat’s wing, or a cavern stalagmite formation echoing a spinal column.
For me, these drawings are personal and autobiographical, yet look back and are nurtured by the art historical past. It is my intent in these drawings to cause a sense of awe, mystery and reflection in the viewer, a sense of the presence and spirit of God.