- titled: "Sentinels of Time" (lower left corner)
- signed: "Secunda" (lower right corner)
- medium: mixed-media collage/serigraph
- dimensions: image size: 9 7/8" x 6 3/4"; paper size: 16" x
13"
- edition: 25 prints, numbered 1/25 to 25/25
- date published: 1994
- print number: 94-02-025
- published by: Pierian Press Fine Art Editions
Introduction, by C. Edward Wall
Secunda is well known for both his collages and prints; in fact,
many of his prints are inspired by or based on previously constructed
collages. This work is actually a collage of portions of
two previously created prints - one printed in France and the other
in California.
The work is a rich visual image and a powerful
symbolic statement on time, which is perhaps inevitable for an
assemblage comprised of works originally created in different places,
cultures, and times.
Time has been characterized in countless ways: for example, as
demarcating beginning and end (e.g., birth and death); as fleeting
(once gone, it can never be recovered); and as the great equalizer
(it passes at the same rate for all living things, or all living
things die in time). All these characterizations are symbolically
incorporated into this print.
The two triangular sentinels, perhaps Egyptian pyramids or
indian tepees (both enduring symbols of ancient civilizations)
reflect the duality of time. To the left of the image, heat shivers
capture the momentary nature of "the present." The parallel lines,
like layers of a mobius strip repeatedly coming round, draw us into
the image and ever deeper into the past or future -and into the
"leveling" of time.
These are the most obvious metaphors inherent in this print, but
one can simply enjoy this work for the beautiful composition that
it is. In this tumultuous world, the artist may bring us no greater
gift than creations that refresh the spirit through the momentary
conveyance of pleasure - one of the most fleeting emotions that
exist in the continuum we call "time."
|
