The Cause Collection^™

Global Warming
cause: CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING
now benefiting: Cultural Survival

This work was inspired by a multitude of Madonna & Child paintings. However, here the figure of the Madonna is replaced by a monumental sculpture of a meditative jade Buddha, representing the deep spiritual discipline of the East. The kaparda atop His head is a protuberance of wisdom, emblematic of superhuman consciousness. His right hand (unseen) touches the Earth, acknowledging lordship over it, calling the Earth to witness; it is the active pole. His upturned left hand represents unlimited giving as well as receptivity and surrender; the passive pole. Cradled in His lap is a restless chubby child symbolizing the undisciplined nature of spiritual development in the West. Unaccustomed to peaceful pleasures, the West squirms, winces, and screams to be heard rather than listen. In the light of day, its flailing left hand desperately demands attention. While in the shadow of darkness, its right hand attempts to make demands by snapping its fingers. Certainly, it is prepared to kick violently if it does not get its way.

Appearing below is a dark figure holding a staff in his left hand, representing the often-overlooked dignity of 'third world' tribal wisdom and its ever-present pilgrimage for survival. This "Sun Worshiper" encourages the viewer to acknowledge the magnitude of the golden ziggurat, representing the dwelling place of divinity, a cosmic axis, a vertical bond between Heaven and Earth and the Earth and the Underworld, as well as a horizontal bond between the lands. Dominated by the tension between West and East, tribal wisdom resorts to the three steps of survival: adaptation, communication, and trust. Resting his right hand upon its first step, he transfers its power and grace in order to heal such divisiveness. This compassionate gesture expresses his tenacious wish to vinculate an orderly, harmonious, systematic universe with both natures of humankind: the external and physical with the internal and spiritual.

An oak frame representing steadfastness in virtue and faith barely contains the composition. Its deteriorated portions extend the painting’s background well beyond the stretcher, revealing the potential impact of perpetual conflict upon strength in adversity. The composition is somehow illuminated by differentiated sources of light, alluding to the prevalence of somewhat incompatible ways to truth and enlightenment. However, the blazing sunless sky and the topless mountain suggest the absence of enlightenment’s splendor and the inability to attain full consciousness in an atmosphere of stressful friction. Without the summit of Paradise, the purple mountain majesty above the fruitless plains further emphasizes the extreme dominions created by cultural misunderstanding. Perhaps the desert of contemplation, quiet, and divine revelation, may inspire all cultures to become conscious of the immediate need for global warming.