Artwork from Duality

Paintings in gouache featured in my senior exhibition for completion of the BFA.  This artwork and much of my art has been influenced by some of the concepts I first heard through audio, video, and books by Joseph Campbell.

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

Adhesive Happiness

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

Adhesive Sorrow

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

Order in the Court

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

Chaos in the Streets

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

Cutting Down Tradition

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

Old Man and the Sea Lion

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

The Labyrinth

All works Copyright 2009 by Elliott Addesso

I can’t stop laughing…

at this demonstration video. It looks like she’s pouring sand from the magic lamp into her nose…I half-expected a genie to pop out the other side, and then Jafar and Abu and a magic carpet… But seriously this could be on SNL. It would be funnier than most of the current stuff. I think they would move alot of product if they ran this as an ad on TV. Because for all its ridiculousness, I want to try it.

I just can’t get enough…

of Joseph Campbell. The man was great. I listen to the audio recordings, watch the dvds, and read the books. And then I do it again. And again. Talk about a visionary. He died in 1987, but his words ring of greater truth today than ever before. People living in the ‘Waste Land,’ not following the way of their heart but living in a way that society has dictated- a way that may be secure in terms of economic prosperity, but is truly an insecure way in terms of heeding the call and doing that thing you wanted to do with all your life. And what of the internet? And 9/11? If he were alive today, I’m sure he would talk about how these are indications of our need to recognize that there is only one social group to which we all belong and that social group is mankind. And that there is a pulling back among in-groups because a world without boundaries seeks to threaten literal traditions. Nevertheless, the man has left behind a trove of golden nuggets, here are some of my favorites:

On the teachings of the Arthurian Legends: They thought that it would be a disgrace to go forth as a group. Each entered the forest at a point that he himself had chosen, where it was darkest and there was no path. If there is a path it is someone else’s path and you are not on the adventure.

… where you stumble, there your treasure is.. the world is a match for us and we’re a match for the world. And where it seems the most challenging lies the greatest invitation to find deeper and greater powers in ourselves.

The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world.