Altar-Nate at the Arts Company, Nashville TN

If we were to invent a contemporary secular mythology, what would it be? What are are passions, obsessions, and addictions. Where must we go, and where must we be in this 21st century culture? Are there traces of early Greek and Roman mythologies reflected, preserved, or transformed in the present day? Would Artemis be a fitness trainer? Who would we pick to appear in Nashville's Parthenon? Would we reach out to our recent past to find the beginnings of our present day definitions of beauty and human relationships?

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There are no definitive answers, just ideas. My series of 21st Century Altars are featured at The Arts Company in Downtown Nashville through April 2013.

Artemis Redux  Charcoal on plywood, white and copper BB pellets, pen nib, hand built wooden altar  : 38”W 40”H   

Saint Sartorial Pleasure : Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood, hand-built wood                alter, buttons, resin, gold leaf, crystals. 24”W x 47”H

The Steps of the Ryman    Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood, gouache, resin, hand built wooden altar  28”H x 47”H x 4”D

Leaving the 19^th Century    It is graphite, cut Italian rag paper, paint, and hand built wooden altar   10”W x 16”H x 3”D

Turn of the 20th:Prosperous Direction   It is graphite, cut Italian rag paper, paint, and hand built wooden altar. 11"W x 25"H x 3"D

The Chidren of the Kudzu: graphite and color pencil on rag paper, mylar, plant fiber paper, and                             hand built box frame. 11" x 17" x 3".

The Three Graces of the lKudzu: graphite and color pencil on rag paper, mylar, plant fiber   paper, and hand built box frame. 11" x 17" x 3".

The Birth of the Cult of Blond: graphite, cut Italian rag paper, acrylic orbs, rhinestones, metal, ceramic, and hand built wooden altar 

Coming on the Rain:  graphite, cut Italian rag paper, acrylic orbs, rhinestones, metal, guitar pics, paint, and hand built wooden altar

Dionysus of the Plastic Cup: graphite, cut Italian rag paper, and hand built wooden altar 

Poseidon and Amphitrite of the River: graphite, cut Italian rag paper, vellum, rhinestones, metal, and hand built wooden altar

Saint Anne Says Not Now:  graphite, cut Italian rag paper, acrylic orbs, rhinestones, metal, ceramic, and hand built wooden altar

Saint Hubert and the Cult of Dog:  graphite, cut Italian rag paper, acrylic orbs, rhinestones, black sand, ceramic, and hand built wooden altar

Saint Vitus Retro: charcoal on plywood, silver leaf, mirror shards, hand built wooden altar frame

Salon Aphrodite 2:   graphite, cut Italian rag paper, crushed glass, acrylic orbs, rhinestones, metal, ceramic, paint, and hand built wooden altar

Salon Aphrodite 1:   graphite, cut Italian rag paper, acrylic orbs, rhinestones, metal, ceramic, paint, and hand built wooden altar

The Three Graces of the New World Parthenon:  Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood, rhinestones, copper leaf, metal, paint, hand-built altar

Urban Confusion: graphite, cut Italian rag paper, acrylic orbs, seeds, ceramic, paint, and hand built wooden altar

The Cult of Caffeinet: graphite, cut Italian rag paper, Plexiglas, archival pigment prints, and hand built wooden altar

Collectors Night Opening

Conversation with Paul Polycarpou, editor of Nashville Arts Magazine