"A
Convergence of Faiths"
View
Artwork
This
exhibit is lovingly dedicated to the memory of my nephew,
Nathan. December 21, 1981 — May 13, 2003.
ATLANTA,
GA—3TEN Haustudio presents “A Convergence
of Faiths." This exhibition of new work by Diane
Hause explores the juxtaposition of the world’s
major religions during this time of great turmoil and
upheaval. The show consists of many large and medium-sized
paintings as well as a board game called “The
Afterlife” and a life-size replica of a confessional
booth. Hause intertwines the symbols associated with
spiritual beliefs amongst images from recent world events
in her paintings and posits a possibility for coexistence
based on hope and acceptance.
Hause
says her current series came to her through a dream
in which the Kabbalah, the Jewish Tree of Life, was
featured prominently. After a synchronistic series of
events in the days following in which the Kabbalah symbol
appeared in several other instances of her daily life,
she began to work with it as an image and content for
her paintings. Using paint, collage and assemblage Hause
constructs images with multiple meanings, most notably
in a diptych titled
“Twin
Towers” in which on one of the panels the face
of Mohammed Otta, a 9/11 hijacker, is placed on a figure
cradling the Koran in his arm. On the other panel is
a kimono-wearing Japanese woman who peaks out from behind
a fan in which photographs of the Twin Tower’s
destruction have become its fabric. In a group of small
circular images that feel like mandalas, photo clippings
of the Menorah, ancient texts, and Mother Mary are collaged
into complex and beautiful images such as the one in
which an aerial view of Muslim pilgrims are “held”
by a pair of hennaed hands.
The arc that has brought Hause’s work to this
point was proceeded by an earlier series on Afghanistan
women which also originated in a dream occurring long
before the events of September 11 put the US and Afghanistan
on a collision course. Her work intuitively touches
on those places, both literal and sociological, in which
there are so many layers and opposing interests that
it seems impossible to find truth. Yet her images poignantly
reflect her ability to “see the beauty in anyone
who believes.”
As Hause was working on this series with events in the
Middle East escalating to where we find ourselves today,
she found the artwork to be healing. “In some
ways when you feel so helpless….this work was
sacred, there was a holy feeling that occurred,”
says Hause. When she placed a clear plastic dome painted
with two peace doves atop the atomic symbol at the spot
where collaged texts of the Koran, Bible and Torah come
together in the title piece “Convergence”
it was her way of trying to affect the situation somehow,
to imagine it anew.
— Julie Stuart's Press Release
"A Convergence of Faiths"
Opening Night May 17, 2003.
3TEN
Haustudio is located in Castleberry Hill at 310 Peters
St. S.W. Directions
or Contact.
Admission is free.
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