John Geldersma
The Art of John Geldersma is one of combination, one which
Octavio Paz refers to as,
"the conjunction, the diffusion, the reunion of languages,
spaces, and times." Geldersma's extensive use of mandala-like
organizational patterns describes a comos often populated by
creatures of the earth and sky, representing a shamanistic transformations
of materials from nature into ritualistic symbols. The ancient
image of the mandala represents a microcosm or spiritual diagram
of the universe. By meditating upon the components of the mandala,
the viewer moves inward toward the center, simultaneously moving
toward his own center and toward the center of reality. Utilizing
his poetic imagination, John Geldersma creates images and forms
which invite meditation and solitary contemplation. In the creation
of his spirit-filled sculpture, John Geldersma employs archetypal
forms inherited with the structure of the brain. They are primordial,
associated with that portion of the mind linked to nature,
in which its relatedness to the earth and the universe seems
most comprehensible. In the process of being realized as sculpture,
these primordial images are subsequently filtered through and
influenced by the multi-layered cultures of southwest Louisiana,
a blend of French, Spanish, Afro-American, Caribbean, Anglo-Saxon
and American Indian peoples. And it is the conjugation of these
primordial images and regional influences in the artists, John
Geldersma, that we celebrate.
Text taken from " Captured Spirits - An Art of Conjugation"
by Herman Mhire
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