Visiting Artist
January 2003
Zak Jones

zak [at] newalexandria [dot] org


Kirlian Photography

Schauberger & Water

Going Over the Rainbow:
Bridges between human knowledge and patterns in nature.pdf



bio / statement:

I was born and raised in western Pennsylvania, and since I was very young I've always had a fascination with the movements of the environment. In my college years this led me to investigate the patterns of nature and the underlying phenomenon that drive them. From this, I began to work with the concepts of systems modeling, which allow the study of ecosystems and other fields of research which are complex and seemingly difficult to understand. This research focuses on understanding and rendering the basic 'keys' to a system - simple principles from which all complex phenomenon emerges.

Since graduation, I have been able to investigate this work through several public and private interests, including database research at a local internet-based company, studies into gravity and geo-magnetic phenomenon in coordination with a group based at Princeton, Ecological modeling with the Frick Environmental Center, water filtration with a mining company, and personal research into vortex water dynamics and general systems theory. I have given presentations on this material at local colleges, independent venues, and various conferences.

My personal interests in plants has also led me to investigate the practice of bonzai on full sized trees. In this way the trunks and branches are shaped, carefully covered with soils and used to re-contour the landscape in a way that also renders a functional structure or building. This is to develop a form of living architecture which more seamlessly integrates public and private structures (as in pavilions, park centers, homes, etc).

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I find a need, in Pittsburgh and abroad, for more attention to the arts, particularly investigative and illuminative arts which inspire people to learn, grow, and live a life they find more enriching through the development of an internal drive to seek out new experience. I recognize that from an individual perspective this may seem to be no small charge. It should, however, be rooted as an imperative, a fundamental cornerstone, for those who would forward cultural forces and seek the betterment of a people. Indeed, for all of mankind. Understanding that these prerogatives are the underlying fabric for development of a society I have placed them in my heart so that I may, with conscious intention, take actions which lead to their realization.

The exploration of this concept requires the recognition of a landscape of cultural passions, while living in the knowledge that they are comprised of individuals who all share a common human experience. This commonality creates the basis for social awareness, and is the plane of reference for each individual's development of that sense. The objects which populate this landscape then become a language - archetypes which are the building blocks that shape the growth of the people of which they are comprised. This language is inherent in every action which we choose to do - patterns in the rhythm of our life.

Given that our spoken language forms much of the basis for what thoughts we conceive to express through words, the more literate we then become in this language of archetypes, the more capable we are of conceiving of social change in a framework which is inclusive and aware of the presence of all factors. From this our expression is then able to lend shape to the raw energy which individuals put forth. The organization of these many forces, in turn, physically manifests as a scale of objects which are societal constructs - the foundation of archetypes. In this, we can choose to develop archetypes which reinforce the foundation for our language, or we can evolve them in order to further develop a language base capable of encompassing the ever-changing human experience of which it is comprised.

With this map of cultural forces we gain perspective on a landscape of human belief. It is this belief which is the backbone of a region, and the strength of a people. Through an intimate understanding of this landscape we can come to know where new geography will lie, regardless of how it is obscured from our immediate frame of reference. By investing our belief in these areas we align ourselves to the growth and development of a people. This leads to physical, emotional, and spiritual enrichment which is what we delicately describe as 'quality of life'. It is here that we draw energy to enact change in the world, and is the intangible region in which rests our heart.

Crudeoils

One Chair A Bar at the Folies Bergère Mona Lisa

Shawn

Effervescence Surface Traversal Puppet Shadow (De)Construction MigrationWu Wei

Wafaa

Domestic Tension Midwest Olympia Baiti Raze 213 The Human Condition Baghdad