Ruins

<em>The Eternal Silence of Infinite Spaces</em><br>2010-2015
<em>A Single Garment of Destiny</em><br/>1996-2015
<em>A Single Garment of Destiny</em><br/>1996-2015
<em>On The Road With The Last God /<br/>Sulla strada con l’ultimo Dio</em>, 1982-2015
<em>When You Love a Man Enough</em><br/>1956-2015
<em>All the Light We Cannot See</em><br/>2015
<em>Times to Remember<br/>Numeriamo …676</em><br/> 2009-2014
<em>To Part the Darkness, Slightly</em><br/>1992-2015
انا احبك / <em>I Love You, Dude</em>, 1977-2015
<em>ك انا / I Love You, Dude</em><br/>1977-2015
<em>The First Tattoo</em>, 1976-2014
<em>Ring the Bells Backwards /<br/>Suonare le campane contrario</em>, 2015
<em>32 Years of Grace</em><br/>1983-2015
<em>Searching for </em>Huzan <em>in Fragments of Clay</em>, 2015
<em>My Most Honest Memoir</em><br/>1956-2015

The Eternal Silence of Infinite Spaces
2010-2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
26 x 39 in.

A Single Garment of Destiny
1996-2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
26 x 26 in.

A Single Garment of Destiny
1996-2015

Ceramic, steel
15 x 15 in.

On The Road With The Last God /
Sulla strada con l’ultimo Dio
, 1982-2015

Ceramic, pigment, steel
10 x 17 x 2.25 in.

When You Love a Man Enough
1956-2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
26 x 39 in.

All the Light We Cannot See
2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
26 x 36 in.

Times to Remember
Numeriamo …676

2009-2014

Wood-fired stoneware
18 x 13” in.

To Part the Darkness, Slightly
1992-2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
36 x 26 in.

انا احبك / I Love You, Dude, 1977-2015

Ceramic, pigment, steel
10 x 16 x 1.5 in.

ك انا / I Love You, Dude
1977-2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
26 x 26 in.

The First Tattoo, 1976-2014

Stoneware, steel
25 x 12 in.

Ring the Bells Backwards /
Suonare le campane contrario
, 2015

Ceramic, pigment, steel
14.5 x 17.5 x 1.5 in.

32 Years of Grace
1983-2015

Ceramic, pigment, c-print
Edition of 10
26 x 39 in.

Searching for Huzan in Fragments of Clay, 2015

Ceramic, pigment, glass, steel
18 x 5 x 2 in.

My Most Honest Memoir
1956-2015

Steel, glass
15 x 14 in.

Ruins offer a doorway into the past. At that portal we ask, “What manner of stones and what buildings?” We imagine what once was, prior to the fall or the push. Taking a breath in that past moment, without the awareness of what comes next, we supply the missing elements. There was a tower. There was a baths. Listen for the roar of the crowd. Catch the spark of that disco ball. Smell the sweat of liberation. And perhaps, standing among the ruins, we can see the nobility that rises from the ashes—a nobility that might not have been realized otherwise.

When I say nobility, I don’t mean the nobility of status. I mean the nobility of action. I’m talking about the nobility of an ethical, moral stand—the nobility of authority, courage, honor, energy, sacrifice. I mean liberty, freedom, pride, and love. This is nobility to me.

As cultures, as people, we’re in a constant state of disintegration and decay. We’re in a non-stop fall from innocence. We walk on the ashes of our ancestors and provide the footpath for our descendants. Here among the ruins there is really no return to “normal.” There is no escape. To deny this, it seems to me, would be a lie. So what to do? If I don’t want to participate in this noble lie, I must become the noble ruin. Every morning when I shave, I greet my noble ruin. It is my most honest memoir.