Untitled 1995

Beverly Semmes created this untitled work with ink on paper. Observe the vase, an age-old vessel, laden with associations. It is a motif echoing through millennia, from ancient Greek amphorae, used to transport wine and oil, to humble domestic jugs, each iteration a vessel of life. Consider the stack of stones to the left. In many cultures, stacking stones signifies a connection to nature, marking sacred spots or paths. They appear in Celtic cairns and Buddhist stupas, each stone placed with intention, forming a monument to memory, and a symbolic yearning for permanence amid the flux of existence. Note, too, the scribbled mass filling the lower portion of the dress. It is reminiscent of the tangled roots of a tree, or the sinuous paths of subterranean rivers. This chaotic element taps into the primal chaos from which order emerges, mirroring our own psychological depths. The vase, the stones, the dress filled with chaotic scribbles, all resonate, echoing the echoes of cultural memory.