Original Works by Peter Cooke


Spring - 2001

The idea, now, is to make trinkets and sell.sell.sell.com.
There is one thing for certain: The only absolute unit in this world is the US dollar.


Statement - 1996

Action is truth. History is the recording of actions and always from a point of view. We have the hero, the one who acted, then we have the story by the witnesses, and finally the myth explained metaphorically by the artisans. Until recently, histories have been transferred orally. As reminders the traditional artisan used simple patterns, icons, and depictions. Re-linking eventually led to religio-political codes of conduct - rules of common sense for survival.

It is in the belief of the Hopis that we were placed of this earth to recognize its wonderments: awareness. The practice of this awareness was prayer as manifested in planting, hunting, eating, etc. -- a continuous symbiotic practice.

Over the past few decades the artist has endeavored in a variety of disciplines to realize his purpose. He has practiced holism in which the artist's 'footprint', the real effect of the making of the work, is reduced to functional minimalism; in other words, a simpler lifestyle facilitates greater clarity. Also, the piece itself must have a working function, a purpose other than it's aesthetic intrinsic value.

Complimentary to the traditions of modern western civilization are the ancient wisdoms of prior peoples of the western world. The artist believes these truths must be recognized in their appropriate stature.

Consequently in the early 1990s the artist embarked on producing a series of screens* explaining the powerful Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy, a cornerstone of North America: references from the past.

In his next sojourn of works the artist intends to explore the present: the Fourth World. The first piece deals with the sangre melange (mixed blood) of the human race, titled 'The Four Faces'. The second piece plays with the perceptual elements of sky, earth, water and time; the title being: The Purgatory River. The general theme of these works shall emphasize the balance between art and nature.

*The video: 'Language in Wood' explains these screens in detail.




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