The Voice from In-between

By Dnoll


The Collector
Crazy… I am really feeling the time warp these days… I can’t believe it took me 6 years to get back to me, to my roots, to the ‘reason’ I now find myself in the Middle East. Yes, it is all connected. You see, when I was young, I realized that I was meant to explore the inner-space that rides the waves caused by physical space. It’s a kind of spiritual plain of existence that most just shrug-off as metaphysics or some such nonsense.  Haw… even I do it sometimes; you know, when reality just cakes up around the edges of your vision to the point that you just give in to the momentum of it all…? Crazy…

Wow… I am in an art exhibition. I have never pushed the whole art front too much, always finding other ways to make a living; hence my endeavors with woodworking, writing, marcom & web design, and other assorted handyman-type sidetracks... To be honest with myself, I always wanted to move to New York, live in a loft, and paint while high on whatever drug suited me at the time. Instead, thank God, I listened to a small quiet voice, deep down inside, which said I should pay attention to life, and to truth… Wow…

Cool… I love that place, nestled in between the cacophony of reality and the swift, flowing conundrum of whatever it is that is just ‘not’ reality. That is the place that I was referring to earlier, that kind of time warp place where it just doesn’t make sense, no matter what buttons we try to push. It’s all about that small, quiet voice that, when we tune out the thunder of the ridiculous, flaming background booms, we can truly see, hear, feel, we can truly be… Cool…

Hmmm… On Shabbat, I prayed in my studio. I read the prayers, did the religious contortions, and talked to God.  I’m always surprised when He talks back. I don’t know why, I just am… It’s not, as you may have guessed, in His nature to talk back… Maybe it’s that whole ‘reality’ thing keeping us from hearing regularly, but I’m not sure. I couldn’t hear Him until I got to the Haftorah, the bit about Elijah hearing the small quiet voice. Then, as I tugged at my missing earlobes in wonder, Hashem blew out my inner ear drums with a melody so divine that I remembered who I was… again… Hmmm…

Hey! You should come to the art show this weekend! The flow of the in-between is really pouring out now; I’m even working on a piece that has Batman and Wolverine awkwardly strapping on Phylacteries, somewhere in the woods of Benyamina. Yeah, I know, it’s a bit low-brow… Hey, do you want to hear my ‘art’ life’s story in two short paragraphs? I wrote a little bio for the wall under the work that will be shown at the show. Well, you can skim a bit if you just can’t stomach the ego-centrality of it… The truth of me won’t mind one little bit… wait, was that a pun? Hey!

Growing up in Los Angeles, California, Drew’s work was influenced by an art movement that has since come to be known as Pop Surrealism or “Lowbrow,” which had its roots in the Los Angeles area in the 1970s. Drew studied art at the University of California in Santa Barbara, where he developed his interest in public works, such as murals and installations. Attending graduate school at U. C. Irvine, he was further influenced towards Conceptual Art, as well as creating works based upon Kabbalah and mysticism. Once graduating with an MFA, he moved to Santa Monica, California, where he worked for M.O.C.A and the J. Paul Getty Museums as an art handler, coordinating installations. Even though Drew’s work began to move into a more urban dimension, having been involved with street art and graffiti for a time, his true passion always remained visual storytelling and mysticism.

The turmoil in the Los Angeles area caused by the Rodney King riots was influential in Drew’s decision to move his family to the mountains of Colorado, where he continued to create art and perfected the craft he had begun in graduate school of oil painting on panels. His subject matter remained the same, a humorous (Lowbrow) world view based upon hidden truths. At the same time, he began to tap into his roots as the grandson of a carpenter and began a custom woodworking business, where he designed and built custom kitchens and furniture for various clients in the area. In 2006, Drew moved with his family to Zikhron Yaakov, a place that reminded him of his roots in Southern California. Along with drawing, painting, and the occasional woodworking project, Drew is an avid blogger, currently works in marketing communications, and he designs and develops websites.

Yeah, baby! That about covers it: my art life’s story in two short paragraphs… Now you have to see the reality behind the work. There just isn’t any kind of substitute for the real thing. Are you listening? I know… there is a small quiet voice that is begging you, like a whisper from the cells between, to pay attention to the world, to who you are, and to your amazing, uniquely wondrous self. We are all One, which puts us all in the same boat, you know… Life is living… living is life… and God is here, in-between, waiting for us to pay attention to the small quiet voice… Yeah, baby!

See you at the show and Shavua Tov!

GilArt’e - Saturday, July 6th at 8:30 pm - 27 HaYayin, Zikhron Yaakov, Israel!

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