READING ART
READING ART is simple, it’s free, and is meant to enlighten and entertain those who sign up to receive a once a month photo of one of my sculptures, accompanied by a text. This text is not to explain, define, nor defend the art, yet will have some relevance to it.
Reading art is like 'reading' the weather. You have to observe it for a long time, and over a long period of time, until you can predict its flavor, its attitude, its inevitability to stun, to surprise, to anger, to bring pleasure.
What I hope to achieve is for the viewer to "look", to “see”, to "read" the art in a new or meaningful way.
Start READING ART now!
Thank you,
TJ Mabrey
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WINTER LEMON
A Continuing Discussion about the Seeds and Pods
of Sculptor TJ Mabrey
DOES WINTER LEMON MEET THE ACID TEST?
If you've ever bitten into a lemon, or that slice of a lemon stuck on the side of your ice tea glass, you've experienced citric acid - a naturally occurring, weak acid, found in citrus fruit. Citric acid is used in a variety of products from household cleaners to disinfectants. It is used in personal care products, yet it can safely remove toxins from polluted soil and yes, even clean up nuclear waste. Best of all, is its miraculous use in the kitchen to enhance food and enliven beverages from the bar. Citric acid is generally deemed safe; however, when I cut into a lemon, I think of something else.
One of four sculptures in the Seeds of War Series by TJ Mabrey
yellow sienna marble 8.25 x 6.25 x 10.25 inches
CACTUS POD
A Continuing Discussion about the Seeds and Pods
of Sculptor TJ Mabrey
The War in Iraq was a dark thing. Yet there it was, happening in the fertile crescent of ancient Mesopotamia. In what was The Garden of Eden, where life began between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the cities, the towns, the villages, were rendered dark by bombs and bullets; as black as the dirt hurriedly thrown over the bodies of the dead. On the edge of paradise, in the desert, possibly unseen, a cactus grew, quietly, spewing forth its seeds of life. Life goes on, at some price. We all pay. Is it worth the price?
One of four sculptures in the Seeds of War Series by TJ Mabrey
black Belgium marble iron element
12 x 12 x 17 inches with iron base
POPPY POD
A Continuing Discussion about the Seeds and Pods
of Sculptor TJ Mabrey
Poppies have been referenced in literature since Homer’s writings in Ancient Greece. Papaver somniferum renders brilliant, blood–red flowers, while others are pink, like the soft cheek of a child. These flowers are some of nature’s premier beauties. But that beauty belies the black nature of humans who put the pod of the poppy to malevolent use. The milky latex extracted from the seed pod contains naturally occurring opiates and alkaloids whose pharmacological use, in the form of opium, has been documented since the 16th century. Working in The Golden Triangle of opium trade, Britain engaged in Two Opium Wars during the 1800s that resulted in a lucrative trade agreement with China that would last for 150 years. Greed, power, money, control.
One of four sculptures in the Seeds of War Series by TJ Mabrey
white Italian marble, iron element 16 x 6.25 x 6.25 inches
DOA
Patent Pending
A Continuing Discussion about the Seeds and Pods
of Sculptor TJ Mabrey
"We got along without seeds until about 350 million years ago when evolution finally produced one. Now, with few exceptions, we can’t get along without them.
During the decade I have been creating sculptural seeds and pods in marble and bronze, the impetus behind them has changed, but the fascination endures."
–TJ Mabrey
