The Five Metaphors

Abstract

"It's All in the Details" is a visual message presented as 18 fossil-like forms, each floating on its own unified panel. These are placed at eye level, so that an intimate view of the details can be seen. The message is about my personal reflections regarding the interconnectedness of all living matter and the cosmos. The imagery that I created to convey this message were impressions of what ancient fossil-like forms may have looked like during a specific period in Earth's history. Fossils were chosen because they provide man with glimpses into the ancient past. They show us what was living, thus providing a key to understand the Earth's timeline, and our own human history. They also provide Man with physical proof of the passing of time and a shared essence. At some time in their lives, most people have visited a museum, or seen images of ancient dinosaurs and other ancient fossils. This common experience provides the viewer with a sense of familiarity about seeing ancient fossils, and more importantly, stimulates human curiosity about the origins of life on Earth. The pictorial work is meant to stimulate this interest in human perception, thus inviting the viewer to reflect on the resemblance, origin, and nature of ancient fossils and man. Discussion will focus on five specific aspects of my work, which is heat, wax, imagery, pigment, and texture. These five elements will be compared with the creation of the cosmos, and Earth using the rhetorical device of metaphor. In order to guide the reader through this paper I will discuss the five metaphors in the following order: II. The First Metaphor "Heat=Genesis=Encaustic Process" III. The Second Metaphor "Wax=Water=Emergence of Visual Thought" IV. The Third Metaphor "Ancient Fossils=Preservation= Interconnectedness V. The Fourth Metaphor "Pigment=Layers of the Earth=Time" VI. The Fifth Metaphor "Texture=Geologic Processes=Graphological Marks"