Amy Kool Artist Statement

Two years ago, I moved my studio to the financial district in NYC – only a few blocks away from Ground Zero where terrorists toppled the Twin Towers on 9/11.  After having spent 15 years painting in a studio in Soho in a land- marked building designated for artists, I learned that, ironically, the coop owners (themselves artists)---seeking wealthier tenants---had decided to evict every one of us. They gave us 2 months to pack and vacate.            

Luckily, via the Internet, my friend Jude Westerfield found a studio on a winding street---dating back to the cobblestone and gaslight era--- in Lower Manhattan, and moved in.  At first, I had mixed feelings about my new "home". It was an exciting experience, though somewhat intimidating, to discover and dwell in Lower Manhattan---the financial capital of the globe---and a neighborhood that I had never visited. Yet the prospect that I would be creating art HERE elated and exhilarated me. Imagine, only four blocks away from the inferno where 3,000 human beings were massacred, their memories haunting forever the still poisoned atmosphere and the ravaged once blazing, smoking, incineration-smelling ground on deadly 9/11.      

As I became familiar with the neighborhood, I found, to my delight, a small, but fast-growing community of artists---displaced like me--- making art in lower Manhattan, so close to Ground Zero.

Their presence reassured me. I was not alone.  They, too, believe, that it is possible to regenerate this area---scarred, saddened and made bleak by a monumental human tragedy--- not only by developers of soaring condos, Wall Street traders and investors, but by the artistic and spiritual labors of creative women and men like themselves.  In a small way, my paintings represent my hopes for and contributions to a society based on universal human values, such as kindness, smiles, laughter, affection, individuality, and, above all, peace---without which none of the others has a chance to grew into paintings, created with joy and color and irony.

In my studio, I feel like a farmer, clearing away the devastation ---wrought by a tornado---then planting seeds.  Daily, I watch them grow into paintings rife with color, unflagging energy, structure, and, to breathe life into them, irony. These works represent  my commemorations to the 3,000 victims of 9/11, as well as my condolences to their families and loved ones. The following  works were  created in my studio near ground zero .They are my monuments to 3000 innocent people  who did not have the opportunity to live, as well as the  families and loved ones who survived them.

THE MAP OF GROUND ZERO

The first paintings that were created in my studio are like abstract patterned patch quilts.   Painted rectangles--- with a faded palette---are pieced together to create large paintings. They represent my attempt to bring some sense of order, regeneration and healing after the chaos, death and grief of 9/11.

MANDALAS

The Mandalas I paint with acrylics, gold leaf are collaged with found objects. They are symbols of power.  Like a potter, I paint the canvases on a wheel so they are centrifugally balanced.

Traditionally, Tibetan Buddhist monks painted mandalas on wood and silk as a part of their spiritual tradition, depicting healing rituals, spiritual power and their vision of the universe. According to the Dalai Lama, when the mandalas were painted, the procedure required teams of five monks working 4 days at 17-hour shifts to complete. The result was that the atmosphere in which they labored produced a tranquil, peaceful and harmonic environment.  Thus, the " vibes" that the art of mandala - making created were as important as the making of peace itself.

In Judeo-Christian terminology, it is said that the world was created through the sounds of words..  Rabbi Lawrence Kushner writes, "These words are more than just signs for sounds; they are symbols whose shapes and words they place   at the center of a unique spiritual constellation.  They are themselves holy.  They are vessels carrying the light of the Boundless One."

In painting circular canvases, I discovered there is a great sense of harmony and healing; moreover, there is no end or beginning--- only a continuous cycle or orbit. From this practice I concluded that most of my energy and visions of the universe where focused on the center.

ILLUMINATED COLLAGES

Most of my painting is influenced by ancient art. Indeed, my collage series reflects contemporary variations of ancient illuminated manuscripts that I have seen in Museums.  I found that every culture, whether it be Celtic, Germanic, Islamic or Judaic had their own version of illuminated manuscripts.  I create patterns of light and color with paint, metallic, paper, antique Japanese fabrics and remnants of old watercolors that I painted that have faded and frayed. The light echoes and sings across the canvas thus to create almost a visual melody.

THE IRAQ SERIES

I think at some time or another an artist sits back and questions what they are doing.  In the 21st century it is impossible to ignore the war, terrorism, the global warming, the bloodshed that seems to have inhabited our planet.  I began to feel almost absurd painting peaceful images with beautiful colors when there was so much horror and ugliness around me.  I created a series of prints and drawings that reflect the treachery and the greed.

MY COLLAGE BOOKS

My books are personal diaries created with collages – tributes to life, love, and war. Made with paper and paint.