Caliche Fields – On the short form of myth

Artist Statement for the works (click)

a proem: on the short form of myth

            the clumping of ash and dust in the clarity of stillwater, the potential of seed and the unraveling of silence, and that loud gassed up by a gas-flare memory under the clearness of the evening sky. concise imagery, like prophecy or visions within the flame, is a dangerous thing. what conclusions may be drawn therein are as fleeting as the smoke from which they rise.

            in these poems, i have played with my curiosity through the creation of meaning-making, misdefining and reimagining myths through short forms, such as the Japanese haiku and Korean sijo. when we think of the heroic placement amongst the stars we often overlook the painstaking patience that it took to undertake the delicacy of starlight. Madeline Miller writes in Circe, “least of the lesser goddesses, our powers were so modest they could scarcely ensure our eternities. we spoke to fish and nurtured flowers, coaxed drops from the clouds or salt from the waves.” longer poetic forms, such the epic, wax poetic about the addictive hybris of men and so i thought to humble them with various contemplations on the divine and its gentleness. why do we dwell with such cruelty? what must have been endured? what addictions are we left with?

            and there, i discovered it: a nirvana of sorts in a spanish homophone: mi tos, my cough, and mitos, myths. whilst meditating on my relationship to the sacred breath, tenía tos. m i t o s arrested me and i was captivated by the general splendor. there is so much complexity within that elusive moment of euphoria or ecstasy that forces us to change that we may become addicted to it. for nymphs such as Clytie, Daphne, Medusa, or even Iztaccíhuatl, metamorphosis was offered to them through infamy. but, should there be more than the abject through their objection? a stone, a tree, a mountain, or some other monstrosity. how does the memory of experience shape our placement amongst the stars, our mythos?

– caliche fields forever 💕