Artist Statement - Passages From The Kite Chronicles
Passages From The Kite Chronicles
I stand at the edge of a cliff and look over the void below. The wind pushes against my face, and I ask myself, “If I truly believed I could fly, would I?” Could I jump, defy gravity, and defy every logical thought that has been told to me during my life? Then come the broader question, “What is reality, and is it just a question of faith?” Once again, I am not totally committed to challenge what I have been told, and I do not jump. Instead, I climb back down the mountain.
I am curious about the outward projection of fantasy through play and the transformation of physical objects into the realm of fantasy. I think back to my childhood when a log laying on the ground became a sailboat riding the waves in an ocean of grass. Sometimes, it seems like I am scientifically analyzing the need to escape reality through fantasy. Though play is best demonstrated by children, I am interested in how adults project fantasy, and how they look to a bystander in the “real” world who catches the person playing. The activity is more important than the people in my images. These people are on quests, and they are explorers of my sub-consciousness and my imagination.
I started making kites a year ago. They have progressed and evolved, becoming more animal like along the way. The kites are natural and are made from sticks, natural fiber rope, and handmade paper that has the appearance and touch of rawhide. The kites act in performances recorded by still camera and video, and take on a life of their own when viewed in person.
To the bystander, a kite that doesn’t fly may look futile. To the pilot, he or she still believes the object can fly. The ideas behind flight have become an obsession. Perhaps, it is because if one person actually achieved flight without aid of any device, it would be the most amazing physical feat ever achieved. I strongly link the kite to a climber. As a climber I ascend a rock or a mountain, and I feel a division between me and the earth below. Perhaps, I am like the prehistoric birds that first learned to hop, then, jump, then climb up steep mountainsides, and finally gained the ability to fly. Still, I am more like the kite, always anchored back to the earth, never truly free, but I still get to soar for a moment when I am on the climb.
Fantasy
Exploration
Journey
Quest
Belief
Play
All material, images, and text copyrighted © 2010 by Micajah Truitt
Web Design copyrighted © 2010 by Micajah Truitt
