On a Painted Ocean

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (text of 1834)

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

I always felt a kinship to Coleridge, a funky romantic poet.  The perfection of his rime scheme lead many scholars to believe Coleridge lied about the drug-induced stupor he professed produced Kubla Khan. Maybe I felt the kinship because of the quirky 80’s “Frankie Goes to Hollywood” Album Welcome to the Pleasure Dome, a Coleridge allusion or maybe it was because my Dad could and did (often) recite, in full, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  Whatever the original inspiration, Coleridge, with his strange connections of the natural and spiritual world, reminded me of the Greeks with events on earth often having dramatic implications in heaven and consequently on Mankind. Coleridge has been my life long friend, giving words to pictures in my head.

It’s only natural that my research about water, as an artistic project, would begin with words from the poet Coleridge.

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

For my personal project, I began researching water issues in the United States. From the earliest readings in our class, I felt a resonance with the artists working in focusing on water. 

I began my creative process with a few questions to answer:

How long can we go without things necessary for life?

What are the spiritual implications of our treatment of the natural world?

What happens when we fear what we need most?

Back to Coleridge

In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the mariner, someone who lives on the water, kills an albatross. This bird has served as a guide and has led his ship out of danger.  With that deed, the ship becomes idle on the water. The natural world ceases to aid the ship or the mariners in any way. The winds die and the ship stalls.  The other sailors tie the dead albatross around the mariner’s neck.  Then, all but the ancient mariner die of thirst—because although they are in the middle of a large body of water, none is fit to drink.  But that's not all; the spiritual realm also punishes the mariner.  The ship is haunted with specters and ghosts. Only when the mariner makes peace with the natural world, does his curse lift.  The albatross drops from around his neck and angels help guide him to shore.

Are we as a society committing acts against Nature so that the natural world and the Spiritual world are looking for restoration?

Although Coleridge offers so many levels which to discuss this, I am going to focus on the issue of water. 

I asked more questions:

What do we do when we are afraid of water, afraid to get in it, afraid to drink it?

How do we move off of our “painted ship on a painted ocean”?

How do we begin to move again and begin to remedy with the natural world?

Who owns water?  What do we do next?

A search for answers

According to Live Science, “If you're ever stuck out in the wilderness, remember what survival experts call 'the Rule of Threes'.

You can live 3 minutes without air, though we don't recommend trying. In a harsh environment — it's snowing, say — you have 3 hours to survive without shelter. After 3 days, you need water or you'll perish. You can make it 3 weeks without food, though we promise you that won't be fun.” (Binns)

            What if we can no longer drink water?  We can go weeks without food before we die.  We can go only 48 hours without water before our bodies begin to shut down. 

“Water flows through the blood, carrying oxygen and nutrients to cells and flushing wastes out of our bodies. It cushions our joints and soft tissues. Without water as a routine part of our intake, we cannot digest or absorb food. “(Binns)

Given this information my fundamental question is: What happens when we begin to fear something that is essential to our life?

 

A little history of society and water

Since the beginnings of our western culture, for agriculture to thrive, for industry to thrive, water was essential.  From the earliest days of using river floods for irrigation, water was elemental to farming.  Even later, as we moved to the Industrial Age, factories were built by rivers, in order to have hydro energy, as in a mill or a dumping sewer, as with many of our 19^th century factories.  Now, water rights are becoming as important in the sale of the land as the mineral rights.  Strangely, through the oil industries use of fracking to push oil out of the ground, water rights and water quality begin to merge as joint concerns.

 

Who owns the water?

According to the Texas Water Rites website through Texas ATM University, “In Texas, water rights depend on whether the water is groundwater or surface water.

Generally, Texas groundwater belongs to the landowner. Groundwater is governed by the rule of capture, which grants landowners the right to capture the water beneath their property. The landowners do not own the water but have a right only to pump and capture whatever water is available, regardless of the effects of that pumping on neighboring wells.

Surface water, on the other hand, belongs to the state of Texas. It can be used by a landowner only with the state's permission.” (Texas Water Rites) Surface water exists as rivers and streams.

 How is water part of creation?

Water is elemental, primordial part of creation.  Even in the religious text of Genesis, God moves over the water before he asks for light.

As part of my inspiration, I began thinking about my personal experience with water as a form of creation and expression.

First, I thought of water in relationship to art and to sculpture.  Rivers sculpt the landscape.

Water sculpts internal caverns in aquifers. We use a medium which is water based in watercolor paints.

But more personally and artistically, one of my artistic influences was a very old Columbian sculptor, Luis Alfonso Valderama Sanchez.  In the era when Machu Picchu was first discovered, many archeologists, artists and adventurers turned their interest to the Andean mountains. In these mountains, a water temple was discovered in the early 1920's. On the expedition to explore the temple, called St. Augustine, was an American archeologist and several other importantly skilled persons.  Sanchez was one of the expedition members and was to draw the way things were found, the pottery and to interpret the whole site in drawings.

I have one of the few copies of the book detailing this dig. The fold-out pictures of the temple are drawn by Sanchez. The temple was quite amazingly engineered. Water was let out of an aqueduct and would flow around monumental sculptures of frogs and lizards.  As the water flowed around them, these sculptural animals would appear to be resting in the water. These sculptures were monoliths carved from giant pieces of stone.  In the St Augustine complex, water was elemental. The water temple, like Coleridge’s Rime , highlights the need for unity in the natural and spiritual world.  In many ways, water is that unifier.

When thinking about Sanchez’s book, as a source of inspiration.  I wanted to use a book as a foundation for my project; a book about water as fundamental.  Another question arose.  How then, could I make a book to show the fear of water? Could the book illustrate fear; someone afraid to drink the water and afraid to bathe in the water?  I wanted to make a book were every symbol would count.  Iconographically, it would resonate.  What could I rely on to make a connection with my viewers? How could I get the viewer involved? —To move us out of the painted ocean into real life. How could I begin to show a need for unity in the Natural and spiritual world?

            As I began considering these small things, I thought through water symbolism. I found myself thinking about my children, my two sons, as well as the children who come through the museums, and my responsibility to them. Through this research, I formed my ideas about the symbols I wanted to use for my personal project.

What is the Project?

The concept: to layer meanings

To merge new and old processes

To engage the viewer in active participation rather than simply passive on looking

To create a collage using a mix of print media and double-entendres

The Binding (Map Book):

By using a government document, I wanted to connect water issues with federal agencies.  I used and aerial flight map of Florida for several reasons.

First, I wanted to get a bird’s eye view of the topic- to connect to water from a different perspective.   Second, the aerial map book’s proper name is U.S. Terminal Procedures Publication. Figuratively, Industry and policy combine to create an environment where our cultural practices with water is, in fact a “terminal procedure”. Without intervention our waterways and the life dependent on the waterways will be at great risk.  In many regards, our environmental water policy is a terminal procedure.

Third, Miami is often cited as one of the most vulnerable cities with regards to water issues.  It is victim to many hurricanes and its water table can easily get flooded with salt water—affecting the drinking water. The Everglades, which is technically a low wide river, is at risk.  Finally, the map is from 2012. This is 110 years from the film I deconstructed.

The paper is similar to the paper used in the St Augustine book.

Deconstruction and Content:

I wanted to deconstruct a film and create an old flip book—something that instead of just watching a film, you have to put your hands on to make it work.  The viewer has to participate or there will no longer be anything to view. The picture stops.  To work the flipbook, is an imperfect act.  Similarly, there are unexpected pauses in the less than perfect work we do. It can be slow.  It can stop but we need to see the storyline to the end.

I deconstructed an early film of Hawaii 1902.  Children are diving from a pier. As they frolic in the water, boats pass by them in the harbor.  Industry and people using clean water together.  There is one hesitant boy.  He won’t jump.  He is too frightened to participate. All the other children have entered the water.  They pass the boy, as he stands nervously on the edge, afraid to enter the water. In the last frame, he jumps.  

This wordless story line symbolizes my view on the need for participation and harmony.  This parallels my perception of the need for actual hands on work to rehabilitate our water and waterways.  If we do not put our hands to working with policy and pollutions, there will be nothing left to see. And in the end, we all must get into the water.

http://educatingartisan.blogspot.com/2014/03/terminal-procedures-dive-in-take-2.html

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http://educatingartisan.blogspot.com/2014/03/details-terminal-procedures-dive-in.html

Where will water take me?

The importance of water quality, reminded me of a 2012 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s pivotal book The Silent Spring (1962). Although Rachel Carson was discussing pesticides and other harmful chemicals, she could have been talking about the chemicals used in fracking or in our industries today when she said, “I contend, furthermore we have allowed these chemicals to be used with little or no advance investigation of their effect on soil, water, wildlife, and man himself. Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent concern for the integrity of natural world that supports all life”. (Carson, 1962, pg. 130.)

With great wisdom, Carson understood the need for conscientious dealing with nature because ultimately our deeds will stay with us.  We are all connected to the natural world and we need to nurture that relationship. To the end of a “prudent concern for the integrity of the natural world,” we must ask ourselves the questions implicit Carson’s statements. How are we connected to the natural world? How do we support that natural world which supports all life? Are we wiser in our dealings today?

My work in this area is not finished.  I will continue to look at maps and layer meaning on them.  As I research, I hope that I am wiser each morning and that I am unifying the natural and spiritual world.  I will start with the issue of water.

He went like one that hath been stunned,

And is of sense forlorn:

A sadder and a wiser man,

He rose the morrow morn.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (text of 1834)SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

References:

Adams, T. (2007, March 10). Natural talent. The Guardian,  DOI: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/mar/11/art.features3

Binns, C. (2012, November 30). How Long Can a Person Survive Without Water?. LiveScience. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.livescience.com/32320-how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-water.html

Brophy, S. & Wylie, E. (2014, March). Sea change. Museum, 93(2), 35-41.

Carson, R. (1962). The Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Coleridge, S. (n.d.). The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (text of 1834). Poetry Foundation. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173253

de Barralas, J. P. (1936). Aqueologia Agustiniana. : Bibilioteca de Cultura Colombiana.

Harold. (2014, March 18). Interview by L. Rushton. Weatherford.

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Loftis, R. L. (2010, January 13). Trinity river among the most polluted waters in Texas. The Dallas Morning News, Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20100113-Trinity-River-among-most-polluted-waters-3200.ece

Muir, J. (1918). A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. Mariner.

Plushnick-Masti, R. (2013, January 13). Epa backed off weatherford water contamination. The Dallas Morning News, Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20130116-epa-backed-off-weatherford-water-contamination-probe-after-gas-drilling-company-protested.ece

Smith, S. (2012, March 22). Texas waterways are nation’s fourth most polluted, Texas Monthly, Retrieved from http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/texas-waterways-are-nation’s-fourth-most-polluted

Texas commission on the environmental quality. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.tceq.state.tx.us 2013.