Paul Gazda

Using the landscape as allegory, I explored the relationships among humanity, earth and the cosmos in my art for over 15 years. The works tend to be metaphysical and sometimes surreal, dealing with ideas and relationships which cannot easily be put into words. They deal with broad concepts rather than specific issues, and stay far away from immediate social concerns.

Somewhere in 1995, this all changed. Somewhere in that year, my awareness of the negative "teachings" that bombard us daily from television, movies, advertising, politics, sports, and even casual conversations crossed my subliminal threshold into consciousness. My sensory numbness wore off and I could hear and see clearly what popular culture was offering us daily:

- If you are making more money, you are successful.
- Lifestyles of the rich and famous are equivalent to happiness.
- Eat and run. No time to thank or even think of the living creatures who died that you might live.
- The earth and all its creatures are subservient to us; we may do with them as we please.
- Only a fool admits guilt.
- If you are guilty, it is your duty to hire a lawyer and try to "get off."
- It is a lawyer's duty to exploit every loophole and technicality to prevent a "guilty" verdict.
- Smart players break the rules without the referee catching them.
- It is all right to fill movies and TV shows with violence and deceit as long as the "bad guy" is caught.
- Ignore people in need, the government will help them.
- And so on and on....

So as I became accutely aware of these messages, the inevitable question arose, what could I do about it? My normal response was to say to myself that the problem is too big to do anything about; it's too bad; but now I'll get back to my daily routines. This time, though, something got in the way...the documentaries "500 Nations" and "The Way West," and music from "The Native Americans." These creative works told powerful stories of courageous Native Americans who stood up against impossible odds, giving their lives to preserve their land and heritage. I was deeply moved by these stories, not so much because of the information they contained, but because of the way they were told. Because of the art in these works, the lessons traveled through my intellect to my heart, becoming part of me, rather than dissipating in a cloud of "interesting" information.

These stories were a wake-up call, not only to the reality of the "winning of the west," but also to the special power of art to convey ideas. I realized that the ability of art to engage the senses and emotions in the experience of ideas gave it a far greater power than intellectual discussions or long-winded speeches.

Thus, a door cracked open letting in the notion that even if I couldn't change the world, I needed to at least have the courage to express my ideas and put them out there for people to see. If I could influence just one person for the better, then it would be a worthwhile endeavor. As the door slowly opened, ideas poured in. The concept of addressing the negative teachings of popular culture through "ten commandments" began to form. The rush of new ideas, of course, created turbulence in my unwritten, yet long established code
of artistic behavior. This artwork would focus sharply, blatantly, unabashedly on social issues. Not only had I never been drawn to that type of art, but it would be totally out of place in my body of work. This would also be a visual artwork in which text was the key component. I had never connected with visual art that had text scrawled over it, but what I was contemplating was all about text. So there I was, contemplating a work of art totally out of character for me, that required methods on which I had previously looked askance.

For several weeks I moved ahead with the concept, while at the same time wondering if I would really do it. Finally, with some encouragement from my wife, I pushed the door completely open and committed myself to creating "The American Ten Commandments." After that point, I never looked back. My reservations were replaced by a sense of purpose and satisfaction that grew as the artwork progressed. I envisioned this piece as a powerful image that would bring the subtle "between the lines" negative messages of popular culture into plain view, enabling people to recognize them, and through that awareness, resist their effects. At the same time, I wanted to counteract the negative content of the "commandments" themselves. To do this, I used a double negative to make a positive. By placing the negative content of the "commandments" on cracked tablets sitting on crumbling supports, with even the title sign decaying, I planted the seed of hope that these teachings are on shaky ground and may give way to something better.

Now that I have completed "The American Ten Commandments," I realize what a major transformation I have undergone in the process of its creation. It was a tumultuous journey for me to decide to take a
sharp turn from my familiar artistic path; but now that I've done it, I am sure that I made the right decision. I do not feel that my new path is artistically better than my previous one, but the fresh breeze of creative energy tells me it is the right path for me to follow.

There are a couple of interesting footnotes to to this transformational journey. Soon after I opened the door to art dealing with social issues, other socially oriented ideas sprang to mind which I could express as visual art. I now have a number of works in mind which I am calling my "Didactic" series, each intended to teach. "The American Ten Commandments" takes its place as the first in the series.

I have also found it remarkable to see myself embracing two visual art concepts which I had been sure were of little interest to me...social commentary and text. This has made me more open to all forms of art and ideas. I consciously try to keep an open mind to forms of expression which don't connect with me today, because I know that tomorrow I may see their beauty.

So, now about the technique. I wanted to create a large-scale work which would look like stone tablets containing the ten commandments of popular culture, but still be light enough to hang on a wall without special mounts. To create the tablets, I used foam board forms, covered them with acrylic gel, and then covered the gel with sand. I then used more sand and acrylic medium to produce the end result -- what I think are realistic looking stone tablets. Yet, the use of foam board forms makes them very light. I inscribed the commandments on the tablets by writing the letters with acrylic medium and then drizzling sand into the medium. The tablets are fastened to the canvas backing with acrylic gel.

The rusty forms that the tablets are sitting on, the wobbly pillars at the side, and the banner with the title at the top are all made from photographs cut out and mounted on foam board and fastened to the canvas with acrylic gel. The letters in the title were cut from foam board and dipped in colored acrylic medium before being mounted. At the very bottom is a cracked shelf which is made from a foam board core covered with acrylic modeling paste. Modeling paste is intended primarily as a sculpting medium, but when applied as a covering diluted with water, has a tendency to crack. Normally seen as something to avoid, I have used this property to great advantage to achieve special effects.

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