// An Ongoing Reflection About the Project
Elements of the Human Condition in the Natural Disaster Color series
Transposition: the act of transferring an experience in one realm to another without loss of referential elements.
Resilience: the ability to remain strong, despite adversity.
contemplation: the ability to remain focused, observant and thoughtful.
Inner transformation: acquiring new understanding through experience, awareness and reflection.
For me, the Natural Disaster Color project was an exercise in these essential elements of the human condition. In the gallery space, I present the works in ways to evoke these elements.
Photographs and their respective color palettes (shown as stripes) are commonly exhibited horizontally. The intimate size of the works creates an opportunity for closeness and contemplation. Ultimately, horizontal lines evoke a state of rest. Here they also reference the notion of "resting in peace."
The transposed color palettes become artworks displayed upright on the wall, my way of representing a state of resilience.
The video component of the project not only provides the audience clues about my process but also functions as a metaphor.Transparencies and fading effects evoke inner thought processes -- the delicate process of being transformed in a psychological sense.
The project transformed my degree of awareness of issues surrounding natural disasters. In moments of despair, we tend to filter our perceptions, focusing on negative aspects. In the midsts of so much chaos, there is also, somewhere, a strong force in action that we must remember: resilience.
I hope the project's message touches the viewer through their experiences of the exhibition installation, increasing awareness of the importance of remaining resilient despite adversity. How can we develop resilience if not through awareness? In Leo F. Buscaglia's words: "There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over external forces such as tornados, earthquakes, floods, disasters, illness, and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How do I respond to those disasters?"
Petrônio Bendito
Lafayette, Indiana
April 25, 2015
(Revisited: April 28, 2015 over a pleasant discussion with colleague L. Vanderkolk)
Resilience: the ability to remain strong, despite adversity.
contemplation: the ability to remain focused, observant and thoughtful.
Inner transformation: acquiring new understanding through experience, awareness and reflection.
For me, the Natural Disaster Color project was an exercise in these essential elements of the human condition. In the gallery space, I present the works in ways to evoke these elements.
Photographs and their respective color palettes (shown as stripes) are commonly exhibited horizontally. The intimate size of the works creates an opportunity for closeness and contemplation. Ultimately, horizontal lines evoke a state of rest. Here they also reference the notion of "resting in peace."
The transposed color palettes become artworks displayed upright on the wall, my way of representing a state of resilience.
The video component of the project not only provides the audience clues about my process but also functions as a metaphor.Transparencies and fading effects evoke inner thought processes -- the delicate process of being transformed in a psychological sense.
The project transformed my degree of awareness of issues surrounding natural disasters. In moments of despair, we tend to filter our perceptions, focusing on negative aspects. In the midsts of so much chaos, there is also, somewhere, a strong force in action that we must remember: resilience.
I hope the project's message touches the viewer through their experiences of the exhibition installation, increasing awareness of the importance of remaining resilient despite adversity. How can we develop resilience if not through awareness? In Leo F. Buscaglia's words: "There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over external forces such as tornados, earthquakes, floods, disasters, illness, and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How do I respond to those disasters?"
Petrônio Bendito
Lafayette, Indiana
April 25, 2015
(Revisited: April 28, 2015 over a pleasant discussion with colleague L. Vanderkolk)
Colors of Transcendence
What do you see in photographs of natural disasters that have populated the internet? I see fragments of human fragility in a kaleidoscope of colors, tints, tones, and shades... But I also see strength. The themes of hope, remembrance, resilience, and self-transformation emerged as I transposed the depictions of chaos and despair to patterns of order and, may I dare to say, beauty.
We are expected to face fewer but more powerful natural disaster incidents in years to come. Awareness of our relationship with nature is key to reshaping how we interact with it. However, this series provides a different "entry point" to these events and hopes to foster new reflections and understandings of the power of self-transformation. As Carl Jung said, "Becoming is choice!"
Despite addressing a problem of global magnitude, this art project is very personal. As a visual artist working primarily with color, my immediate way of processing natural disaster events was to confront them through my artistic practice. As I worked on this series, powerful color combinations emerged from the deluge of images of destruction that permeate the Web and social media networks. My awareness of the human condition and the planet in the 21st Century was also reshaped.
Many issues associated with the correlation between climate change and natural disasters resurfaced, including the effects of global warming on economics, relief efforts, preparedness, resilience, education, psychological effects, etc. What really caught my attention were the psychological effects, how some people were able to emerge from these events stronger and more socially aware.
Predominantly, the artworks produced for this series allowed me to connect with the events in a different way. By purposefully reshaping graphically disturbing depictions of the events - which in many cases are evocative of fear - for myself, I created a new pictorial “space,” more meditative, conducive to reflection. One can't really reflect in the midst of chaos. One needs to pause! This series allowed me to confront my fears, and reflect on an important aspect of the human condition, that of self-transformation. For me the work is a metaphor for the basic human longing to overcome pain, to turn darkness into light, despair into hope, sickness into health, sadness into joy... to let go.
Perhaps, it is the meaning that I have chosen to give to each work that validates them. On a very personal level, each work is a memento that honors those affected by natural disasters while leaving us with a message of transformation.
Petrônio Bendito
Lafayette, Indiana
May 13, 2013
(Revisited: December 18, 2014)
We are expected to face fewer but more powerful natural disaster incidents in years to come. Awareness of our relationship with nature is key to reshaping how we interact with it. However, this series provides a different "entry point" to these events and hopes to foster new reflections and understandings of the power of self-transformation. As Carl Jung said, "Becoming is choice!"
Despite addressing a problem of global magnitude, this art project is very personal. As a visual artist working primarily with color, my immediate way of processing natural disaster events was to confront them through my artistic practice. As I worked on this series, powerful color combinations emerged from the deluge of images of destruction that permeate the Web and social media networks. My awareness of the human condition and the planet in the 21st Century was also reshaped.
Many issues associated with the correlation between climate change and natural disasters resurfaced, including the effects of global warming on economics, relief efforts, preparedness, resilience, education, psychological effects, etc. What really caught my attention were the psychological effects, how some people were able to emerge from these events stronger and more socially aware.
Predominantly, the artworks produced for this series allowed me to connect with the events in a different way. By purposefully reshaping graphically disturbing depictions of the events - which in many cases are evocative of fear - for myself, I created a new pictorial “space,” more meditative, conducive to reflection. One can't really reflect in the midst of chaos. One needs to pause! This series allowed me to confront my fears, and reflect on an important aspect of the human condition, that of self-transformation. For me the work is a metaphor for the basic human longing to overcome pain, to turn darkness into light, despair into hope, sickness into health, sadness into joy... to let go.
Perhaps, it is the meaning that I have chosen to give to each work that validates them. On a very personal level, each work is a memento that honors those affected by natural disasters while leaving us with a message of transformation.
Petrônio Bendito
Lafayette, Indiana
May 13, 2013
(Revisited: December 18, 2014)
Petronio Bendito. Pain Is My Source Material (2013). Installation View (Size and format variable). This installation features natural disaster photographs that the artist found on the internet. They are either in public domain, creative commons, or are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners as identified in the gallery space. [photo credits]
Pain Is My Source Material
The more I reflect about it, the more I realize that this series is a metaphor about the process of turning things around, of digging deep to find new meanings and experiences. Pain is my source material. Color is the other side of this spectrum of transformation: it's resilience.
Carl Jung reminds us that becoming is a choice. With the Natural Disaster Color series, I hope the viewer will be reminded to look at the world through different lenses. No matter how painful life events can be, we can always get something positive from them: strength, understanding, new purposes… That's what the natural disaster color series references.
We can't win a battle with nature. However, we can build new understandings of our place on earth.
Petrônio Bendito
Lafayette, Indiana
August 25, 2013
(Revisited: December 12, 2014)
Carl Jung reminds us that becoming is a choice. With the Natural Disaster Color series, I hope the viewer will be reminded to look at the world through different lenses. No matter how painful life events can be, we can always get something positive from them: strength, understanding, new purposes… That's what the natural disaster color series references.
We can't win a battle with nature. However, we can build new understandings of our place on earth.
Petrônio Bendito
Lafayette, Indiana
August 25, 2013
(Revisited: December 12, 2014)
Art as a Catalyst For Change
My work on the Natural Disaster Color series (naturaldisastercolor.net) made me pay more attention to climate change issues and their effect on life in general. However, it is the issue of 'pain' generated through natural disasters, the depiction of pain in the media, and how it can be transformative that fascinates me.
The more artists look into this critical subject matter in the 21st Century, the more awareness will take place. Awareness is always the beginning of change and art can play a huge role in it. Perhaps this is also a 'function' of art: to help us understand the human condition in connection with the challenges we face in the world. This project certainly, help me.
Petrônio Bendito
Facebook, Cyberspace
Based on a post sharing a climate change report "Summary for Policymakers."
September 29, 2013
(Revisited: December 12, 2014)
The more artists look into this critical subject matter in the 21st Century, the more awareness will take place. Awareness is always the beginning of change and art can play a huge role in it. Perhaps this is also a 'function' of art: to help us understand the human condition in connection with the challenges we face in the world. This project certainly, help me.
Petrônio Bendito
Facebook, Cyberspace
Based on a post sharing a climate change report "Summary for Policymakers."
September 29, 2013
(Revisited: December 12, 2014)