Chorale

Apotheosis of the Corn Goddess

Chorale is a seven panel mural spanning 50 feet occupying half of the Cornfield Ground, designed in the spirit of the Maize Goddess. The seven paintings sit atop a wooden architecture of bases and video displays to sing as one while corralling the Viewer's attention.

In addition to celebrating the Goddess of the corn harvest, Chorale expresses the phases of nature and cultivation in both growing food and the creation of art. Moving outward in opposite directions from the center painting Apotheosis, there are three paired paintings, beginning with the theme of creative potential (Tractor / Wheelbarrow ), transforming into the theme of sustenance (Nitya / Garden Electric ), and ending in dissolution (White Cloud / Yellow Cloud ).

Chorale speaks in terms of self-effort and grace, two sides of the same coin, the essential elements of the spiritual journey. To the right of the centerpiece are images of manual labor and self effort, symbolized by the wheelbarrow. Creative energy lies within it's tools, resulting in the peace and joy of work well done. To the left are images of spontaneity and grace, symbolized by the automatic path of the tractor and the rider's benediction. At the outer ends are images of chaos and harmony, complimentary and interchangeable opposites. Apotheosis of the Corn Goddess is both the source and culmination of these two directions.

In the center of Chorale floats the Boat.

Cornfield - Chorale Ground floorplan 76' diameter

Chorale Seven paintings in oil - 50' diameter semi-circle Boat 36"H x 36"W x 60"L. polychrome wooden sculpture

Chorale

The wooden sculpture Boat was created as a polychrome free-floating ship anchored inside the Chorale space. With ‘grain silos’ as masts, which are also suggestive of linghams and dock moorings, the deck has been painted with the image of a cornfield. Boat functions as a multi-dimensional symbol, a layer cake of both masculine and feminine energies - a repository, a silo, a womb, an ark - a ship with it's dock planted firmly within, resting between symbols of expansion and contraction. The destiny of Boat is to sail the sea of Maize, anchor afloat.