Kathy Beal: Seven Sisters
Artist(s):
Title:
- Seven Sisters
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 2007
Medium:
- 2D print, folded, accordion-book style
Size:
- 10 inches x 36 inches x 10 inches
Category:
Artist Statement:
Seven Sisters is a cross-cultural, photographically based piece dedicated to Quan Yin (she who hears the cries of the world), Goddess of compassion and a guiding spirit in my life. She is often found in my work as I continue to explore the connections between spirituality and creativity. In these seven transformations, I have merged various organic and spiritual elements across a template created by Chinese art students, creating mystical, multi-dimensional environments for the goddess, suggesting her many levels of existence and understanding. Like the great thangkas (deity paintings) of the Buddhist traditions, I hope these seven transformations, Seven Sisters, will awaken compassion in viewers’ hearts. Reverend Dr. Katherine O’Connell had this to say about my work: “The work of Kathy Beal is inspired in the true sense of the word. Her understanding of light and the magic that travels within its shafts and molecules is true celestial physics. This work is co-creative, groundbreaking, without boundaries, and multiplies exponentially in power and effect over time.”
Technical Information:
Seven Sisters exists because of the digital processes available in the world today. The Quan
Yin template was digitally created by two students at the Central Academy of Fine Art, (CAFA)
Beijing, Wanxi, and Chendu, and transmitted to the SIGGRAPH 2004 Guerilla Studio via an
FTP site. We (the Collaboration Area of the Guerilla Studio) communicated with CAFA (and
fellow guerilla Lyn Bishop) via an Apple iSight camera and iChat software. The images used in
the seven transformations of Quan Yin were obtained through digital camera capture. The final
piece was produced in Adobe Photoshop and printed digitally with an Epson professional inkjet
printer.
