The Cause Collection^™

Yesterday's News

The ancient stelae found in many diverse cultures inspired this piece. This timeless time capsule was created to convey the consciousness of our human condition for future archeologists. Its unusual shape was arrived at entirely by coincidence. While assisting a friend with his move from Manhattan's Upper East Side, I noticed a peculiar item among the trash piled along side the street. It was a custom-made desktop of particleboard and Masonite. At last, here was a ready-made ideal surface to fashion into a simulated stone tablet. After sculpting the designs of its composition, a mixture of paint, quartz sand, glass dust, salt, and a touch of garlic powder (for good measure and magic protection) was applied to simulate a limestone surface, emulating ancient stonework.

Like the British Museum's Rosetta Stone, three languages are depicted in the lower half of this stele, all communicating the same message. The horizontal bands of primary colors on the left are compilations of international flag code designs, alluding to the matrix of citizens who crossed great waters to participate in this great civilization. Since the English language dominates this culture, the bands spell "fire," "air," "earth," and "water" from top to bottom.

Within a graph of sixteen bisected squares on the right are the other two languages. One of which is the pictograph, the original language of recorded history. Representing the pure essence of each element, large pictographs of original design appear in a diagonally descending order within the horizontal row of its corresponding colorful band: fire, air, earth, and water. Their circular design suggests original perfection, and being within the square signifies the bringing of Heaven down to Earth, uniting the four elements, and returning to primordial simplicity in unity. Smaller versions of each pictograph appear in the upper right corner of the squares in its designated column, indicating the vertical domain of each element.

The third language appears as etchings of geometric solids in the lower left corner of the squares. Literally meaning - to measure the Earth, geometry is the international language of cultures that achieve civilization. Here, each horizontal row depicts three perspectives of the Platonic solid (a three-dimensional volumetric form) associated with the element represented by the large pictograph and colorful band within its row. Tradition establishes a direct correlation between the elements and these regular polyhedrons: fire - a tetrahedron (four equilateral triangular faces), air - an octahedron (eight equilateral triangular faces), earth - a hexahedron (six square faces), and water - an icosahedron (twenty equilateral triangular faces).

The binary nature of this graph design enables the viewer to ponder twelve elemental relationships, six on each side of the diagonally descending line of elements in their pure form. Consider the distinction between the interaction of fire and water (on the fourth row, first column) and that of water and fire (on the first row, fourth column). In one case, steam is generated, and in the other, fire is extinguished. These designs also acquaint the viewer with contrasting sculptural approaches to relief. As a deliberate time twister, here the advanced style of alto rilievo is used on the ancient pictographs, and the early style of engraving is use on the conceptually advanced polyhedrons. In its totality, the entire graph design reflects cosmic order, both the temporal and spiritual order, and the exoteric and esoteric.

A fifth element also appears in the same three languages directly above in the upper right portion of the stele. Its horizontal colored band spells "ether", however this element is also known as aether, cosmos, or prana, the substance binding all elements and composing all heavenly bodies. Three perspectives of its regular polyhedron, the dodecahedron (twelve pentagonal faces), are etched above. On top is its pictograph sculpted in both bar-relief and alto rilievo depicting an ancient Mayan symbol within an egg-shape. The Hunab Ku, "One Giver of Movement and Measure," is the principle of life beyond the Sun, and a description of its purpose and activity. (Movement corresponds to energy, the principle of life and all-pervading consciousness imminent in all phenomena. Measure refers to the principle of rhythm, periodicity, and form accounting for the different limiting qualities which energy assumes through its different transformations.) Here it is contained within the Cosmic Egg representing the life principle, the perfect state of unified opposites, cosmic time and space, the hidden origin and mystery of being, and the undifferentiated totality.

In the upper left portion of the stele appears half of the seal baring the symbols of America's three branches of government (see Right on the Money!). Here the key handle incorporates an equal and opposite version of my original symbol (see The Wisdom of Harmony). The scale above possesses the lower portion of a peace symbol in its pan of the balance design. It is suspended from a hook resembling the yin yang symbol, the perfect balance of the two great forces in the universe, representing the supreme and indivisible symbol of integrity. Above, there boldly appears the word "LIBERTY", a universal desire idealized on American coinage.

The entire design of this work honors the many diverse approaches to language found among cultures. Within this counter clockwise reading of Yesterday's News, the viewer is brought back in time to encounter the stories of old, while experiencing a variety of languages read in a number of directions including diagonal. Eventually, the inquisitive viewer follows the halved seal designs of its upper left portion around the side in search of more information. Here, the front's diagonal line of six five-pointed stars is topped by a six-pointed star, dividing the seal's thirteen stars in half. The Seal of Solomon represents the synthesis of all elements, with its upright triangle as celestial nature and its inverted triangle as terrestrial nature. As the seventh (middle) star it also represents the perfect balance of complementary forces within a totality, and the completeness and synthesis of the universe.

While situated within the same column as the six-pointed star above, directly below interlocking swastikas within a circle double universal good luck for an eternity. This symbol appears on the same level as the horizontal row of Earth symbols on the front. Furthermore, in the center of its fused clockwise and counterclockwise design appears a square on end representing Earth. Its multidimensional position bestows the very best of luck to those in service of the union of the dual natures above while here on the Earth plane. The space between these two symbols (originally accommodating the desk drawer) functions as a keyway for the viewer to follow the shaft of the key to the backside of the stele.