Humanscapes Series

The Humanscape series was a collaboration with my wife, Nena St. Louis, who's totemic sculptures have inspired and influenced me for many years. Nena's anatomical drawings determined the structure of each collage. I then filled in the details with photocopy fragments which were derived either from landscapes or architecture.

By presenting the human form as either landscapes or skyscrapers, we are depicting human beings as the nexus between the natural and artificial worlds. And, in fact, we wanted to question the very concept of an artificial world. There is a continuity of natural physical processes that build from the simple sub-atomic realm to the complex realms of chemistry, biology, the brain, and culture. In other words, there is a biological origin of culture as surely as there is a chemical origin of biology. The products of human creativity should, therefore, be understood as artifacts of nature the same as ant hills or bird's nests. This new scientific paradigm contradicts the traditional myth that humanity is a special creation, yet it also frees us to revive the earlier mythic traditions in which man was seen as an integral part of nature.

In bridging the old and new paradigms, we need new mythic images to embody our struggle toward understanding. The gap between spiritualism and secularism must be transcended, and art may serve as a tool toward that end. One goal of the Humanscapes project was to mount an art show in the form of an installation that would act as a sacred space - a space that could evoke contemplation and reverence for our unique human position between nature and culture. The gallery walls were painted with panoramic silhouettes: rolling hills on one side of the room and a city skyline on the opposing wall. Over these silhouetted environments were hung the humanscape collages like icons in a temple. A visitor to this "temple" completed the installation. By standing between human landscapes and human skyscrapers the visitor became the missing link between our creator and our creation.