Stone Lithograph

19” x 26”

2013

In creating this stone lithograph, I was focused on conveying and connecting a number of interrelated ideas regarding Intelligent Design, fractals within nature, and common experiences that all humans share. The theory of Intelligent Design, believing that thoughtless processes such as chance or natural selection cannot explain certain features of the universe, seeks evidence of design in nature in order to demonstrate the existence of a higher, intelligent cause or creator. In designing a visual representation for this relationship between our apparent reality and our creator, I decided to focus primarily on the concept of fractals. I chose fractals because they are visually beautiful, demonstrate a philosophically profound and humbling concept, and usually occur in areas that are all too commonly overlooked. Fractal patterns can be found among clouds, within the veins of leaves, plant structures (ferns, trees, Queen Anne’s lace), snowflakes, lightening, and even within the structuring of mountain ranges. Fractals, best defined as detailed self-similar patterns that repeat infinitely, can be found physically occurring in nature, and the idea of infinite iteration can also be applied to space and time. In this lithograph the nautilus shell, which is the epitome of a naturally occurring fractal, serves as the key symbol for intelligence in the design of the universe, while also representing the infinite cycle of life, death, and rebirth, as well as suggesting the circular nature of time.

            In furthering the idea of life’s phases and circularity, I decided to depict the drumming figure in the back holding both a fetus and a skull. Much like Hinduism’s dancing Shiva, who holds a drum (creation) and fire (destruction), this four-armed figure is displaying these inescapable aspects of being human while maintaining harmony and balance throughout the universe (represented by the surrounding patterns made up of seemingly infinite dots). Spanning from the fetus to the skull is a lunar cycle, intended to further suggest the idea of many phases within life as an infinite journey. The lunar cycle, which is about the same length as the average menstrual cycle, works in conjunction with the fetus to represent the feminine, which is something found within each of us as human beings. On the other hand, the bees surrounding the feminine symbols of fertility represent another key part of all humans, the masculine. In addition to completing the duality of human nature, the bees also relate back to the idea of Intelligent Design in that they build mathematically precise hexagonal shapes.

            The repeated figure drumming serves as a visual representation of the Creator at work, maintaining harmony among all things, in the midst of life and death, through his Divine Rhythm. The drumming also suggests the ticking of time, and the source for the very vibration of all energy that makes the “matter” we perceive.