Title
Liminality in Question
Artist
Terrance DePietro
Medium
Drawing - Ink
Description
Another image from the 1987 Comstock Series which has outgrown its original title, 'Liminality in Question' has proved to be an interesting and unfolding example of potential and purposive ambiguity. Its original title was 'A Hermetic Passage in Mythic Terms' and in a way the shift of titles (handles for the viewer) is not a drastic re-perspective but rather a move toward 'specificity' and collective, qua social, correspondence to present day society.
The image exposes both sides of the coin: the ontological relationship of image to image-maker and an underlying condition of the global society on the threshold of unprecedented change. To the ontological relationship the new titling suggests that the event is more understood than merely recognized some thirty odd years ago. And also that the pangs of introspective process have matured into the potential for a new position within the social group - a position that holds respect and responsibility.
In terms of the collective (society) the event might well visually remind that a vast diversity of subjects and concerns are effecting the decisions society needs to make in order to avoid the perils of complacency. And besides the obvious reference to 'sacrifice', the more subtle association of 'threshold' (cusp, entrance, gateway, passage) brings a measure of urgency since the porthole is not guaranteed to remain open...
In reviewing the characters juxtaposed in the image, from bottom upward, the collectivity (featureless, and numerous) are gathering - imagination might apply a scenario; suspended or floating above the gathering, a vertical rectangle encapsulates a round, apparent, opening from which several subjects are drifting out. They are in no way confused with the faceless group; on the contrary they are quite telling and distinct. The lowest face is partially in shadow, feminine, non-imposing and perhaps 'oriental' by the shape of the eye and cheek...and she seems to be the latest to exit the porthole - if the forms are drifting outward, upward and are of an 'ethereal' nature.
Several sub-characters rest above and to the right all seem to be party to the afore mentioned action: an animal form, a mask or emotive face and perhaps a scaled down personage...Above these another feminine face; this one is in no way shy and gives the viewer direct eye contact! From my long association to the image I find that this woman is self-assured and elegant, she is not emotive but very direct in the message of her eyes and free expression. She is 'womanly' and I dare say unaffected by the disrobed male figure with out-stretched arms, posturing a crucified sacrificial...;or 'initiate' to a Rite of Passage!
And our initiate stands out against a impending shadowy background; itself made up of ambiguous forms that 'suggest' more than announce. Through the years the indistinct upper area has suggested many things but only this year (2016) I cultivated a large oil painting that has a most similar form and curiously in similar position. Like a face superimposed onto a Sun or Moon...but only one side is discernible, the other (left) is amorphous still arriving out of the chaos of indistinctness i.e., unconscious or pre-conscious if you prefer.
As always all of these perceived forms and characters can be weighed to correspondences and in so doing attract the imagination into questions that lead to new concerns for the viewer - or perhaps might substantiate an intuition that has been scratching in the viewers scalp! Perhaps again the viewer is at a threshold of one sort or another...Let the viewer then amplify yet another title!
11nov16 -tdp
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Uploaded
November 2nd, 2016
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Viewed 791 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 01/25/2024 at 7:32 PM
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Comments (1)
VIVA Anderson
Compliments, Terrance! A major work, and, I've not finished 'looking'/perceiving your subjects, each so interesting, but for now a quick FAV, to let you know I'm intrigued. :)VIVA
Terrance DePietro replied:
Thank you VIVA for your visit. As one of the people who know that I recently finished two books - the subjects of which are outlined in the description - I imagine you noted that I was well into the suggestions of Liminality and Rites of Passage; collective vs. individual back in 2016... Hopefully I will have more to report in the coming months but for now I hope you keep coming back to these curious spontaneous gifts of imagination and intuitive functionality. Merci, - Terrance