ENERGY FROM THE CROWD
I could still hear the complex songwriting describing a strange world that was separate from my own yet the same. In a world that often feels out of control, live music provides a much-needed release. I later caught myself attending several live shows after this for a way to escape. Just like facing the Jabberwocky through the looking glass! They say the world continues, with or without the Jabberwock, as it still exists.
I realized that this strange world was actually just a parallel universe, and that I could step through the looking glass and back into my own painting studio whenever I wanted to. I decided to stay in that parallel universe for a while, and I had a blast attending many shows. For me, this also meant seeing the Dillinger Escape Plan several times in support of their final album, “Dissociation” The record is a dark and twisted take on the world we live in, and the live show was an assault on the senses and allowed me to let go of a painful and heavy heart during this time in my life. In 2017, they announced their breakup, but their music will continue to inspire me for years to come. So I stepped through the looking glass back into my own world.
During this time of a national pandemic, however, live music has been cancelled everywhere due to self-quarantine measures, throwing the future of art into uncertainty at one point. Yet despite these challenges, I believe that art will always prevail. The essence of art lies not in materials or mediums, but in people – their stories and experiences and dreams. And so long as we live on this earth, that essential connection between humans and art will continue to thrive. Thus, whatever challenges life may throw at us, I remain confident that with each passing day human creativity will continue to rise above it all and breathe new life into our world's beautiful artistic traditions and engagement between artists and their communities. Therefore, I challenge myself to keep going and to face the hard times, because it’s easy to forget about the real world when you can easily get lost just staring at a blank canvas. Painting is part of my life, and I hope you enjoy my new body of work that is inspired by music and the community it creates.