- - - GALLERY INSTALLATION - - -

INTRODUCTION:

In 1986, the University of Nebraska at Omaha hosted a gallery installation I had created earlier that year. Consisting of twenty-one exhibits, the purpose of the installation was to display a body of work focused primarily on the "Five Levels" formulation of human development.

Exhibit 1 presented and explained the Five Levels formulation. The next 19 exhibits attempted to illustrate one of the five levels, the "Poetic Mind." These nineteen exhibits were profiles of individuals who exhibit "vision" in some aspect of their life, in their work, for example, or their worldview. The aim was to flesh out the meaning of this level of the formulation (i.e., the Poetic Mind), to make it tangible by making visible a few of its many forms. The installation closed with "the Way of the Circus." Thirteen of the twenty-one exhibits are reproduced here.

I knew well all of the individuals profiled except for one who I knew only slightly and another who I did not know at all. None were known outside their field and that, in part, was the point; namely, that the Poetic Mind--increasingly and in a variety of ways--is surfacing and evidence for this abounds in everyday life. I did try to indicate (directly and indirectly, with pictures and the exploration of certain ideas) the way in which each individual exhibited the Poetic Mind but at most (and at best) I could only be suggestive; the rest was left to the imagination of the viewer. All profiles, in addition to the role each played in the installation, were meant as tributes.

One additional element (for which I am very grateful) is worth mentioning. The opening reception was truly a synergic event due largely to the fact that many of the individuals profiled were able to attend. Richard Goldstein and Andrea Bossak traveled from New York, Bill Tuttle travelled from Berkeley, Bob Georgi and Phil Minkin from Los Angeles, Jonathan Tuescher from Aspen, Roger Gipple from Des Moines, Trip Hogue from Lawrence, Guy Cornwell from Seattle, my family from Kansas City, Neil and Bonnie Minkin from Lawrence, Jerry McDougal from Vermont. The presence of these individuals, many of whom (as I say) were "exhibits," brought the exhibits alive and led to interactions that were humorous, thought-provoking, funny and profound. Could the opening have been an exhibit, it too would have conveyed what the installation as a whole was attempting to convey - or so it felt.

Finally, I am very grateful to Dr. David Shrader, (at that time) Dean of the Fine Arts Department, and Nancy Kelly, Director of the UNO Art Gallery, for their encouragement and support throughout this project.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM OPENING: