In
1979, New York artist Jerry Wennstrom
destroyed all the art he had created, gave away most everything he
owned, and began to consciously empty himself of his identity. Why
would anyone do such a thing?
For
Wennstrom, it was to open to the energy of life itself. In releasing
the structure of daily habits and routines, he learned to trust and
appreciate the significance of each moment. This entailed relying on
intuition, listening keenly to the deeper nature of feelings, and
wisely observing the ways in which our inner world reflects the outer,
and vice versa.
Wennstrom’s
journey was one of evocative transformation—not only for himself,
but for all of us. As he shares in his 2002 book, The Inspired Heart:
“We are at a rare time in the history of our world. Consciousness is
attempting to come through the spirit of our lives. It brings with it
all that we need to live out its gift. At the same time, our old ways
of being on the planet are beginning to fail. Our social forms and
structures are radically changing and breaking down. Our mother, the
Earth, is ailing! We are truly in uncharted territory.”
DAWN:
Let’s talk more about consciousness “attempting to come through
the spirit of our lives.” Do you still feel this as strongly now as
when you wrote the book? And, how are you personally working with
consciousness expressing itself through the spirit of your art?
JERRY:
Yes, I feel consciousness is coming through more than ever. What was
once a whisper has become a scream. If we are listening, we hear the
quieter whisper of emerging consciousness, give ourselves to the
transition at hand and avoid useless suffering associated with denying
the inevitable. If we cannot give ourselves to transformation grace-fully,
circumstances move us along kicking and screaming.
You
can see this lack of grace playing itself out in our current
administration. America is going through the death of an old identity.
It is a metaphoric death, which we are perfectly capable of
transitioning through. However, when we hold on to an idea of
ourselves that no longer serves the collective whole, we experience
the death literally, as an external threat. It is clear to those of us
who have dealt with the metaphor internally what must be done
politically. For whatever reason, our government does not see the
metaphor and is choosing to focus instead on the literal projection.
The only literal way to maintain a dying identity that has pushed
beyond creation, into destruction, is through aggression, which is
where we are at as a
country.
In
relation to my art—it is in retrospect that I see how, for example,
one of my sarcophagus-like sculptures translates the death/life
metaphor. Someone I met in St. Louis recently visited my studio for
the first time and said, “You know, if someone were not in a very
good state of mind they might be a little frightened by your art!”
Initially, some people experience my sculptures as death-like.
Paradoxically, these sculptures also dispense gifts, are
whimsical, playful and life affirming. Those who can get beyond their
fear and remain open walk away inspired, bearing gifts. This is also
true about the way we approach and perceive the challenging metaphors
of our day. We can either approach with courage and faith and grow
larger, or we can shrink back, adding power to an ever-increasing
shadow of fear. I am not alone in this understanding, for this
experience is expressed in many disciplines: spiritual, psychological,
artistic and otherwise.
DAWN:
What do you think is the biggest fear humans hold these days?
And, do you feel that your art is an encouragement to the growth of
the psyche in the sense of recognizing and transitioning through this
fear?
JERRY:
Ultimately the core fear is what it has always been: fear of our
demise, whether literal or metaphoric, as in the death of our ego
identity.
My
only intent as an artist is to remain open to what comes through the
spirit of the moment, hopefully without bias. My creative/spiritual
journey has been about personal and collective transformation. The
most effective means to this end has been to remain as fearlessly
present as possible. Generally speaking, some of the more powerful
breakthroughs have come to me through questioning and facing
personal/collective fears. Naturally, the essence of this exploration
is reflected in the overall expression of my artwork.
If
an artist’s intent does anything more than hints at the ineffable,
the work is reduced to what Joseph Campbell calls “propaganda”
(art with an agenda.) What inspires, liberates and empowers the artist
will do the same for the world—if the artist has risked everything
for one radically, creative breakthrough. To do this, one has to face
a level of fear and loneliness so large and culturally ingrained that
the risk would deliver either everything or less than nothing!
For us to experience liberation, on any front, this same,
fearless confrontation with the Mystery is required.
DAWN:
I recently watched “In the Hands of Alchemy”, a DVD about your art
and life. I was impressed by a comment your wife, Marilyn Strong, made
about you: “Wherever you go, transformation follows.” How do you
see yourself and your art as agents of transformation, especially in
the larger context of collective transformation?
JERRY:
When one has gone through a personal transformation, which is
connected in spirit to the zeitgeist, one cannot do other than be
an agent for the transformational process. I tend to the
requirements of transformation in all situations—art and life.
Knowing the gift and the inevitability of the transition we are
currently living through, I am simply present with others in a way
that defines and supports their/our deepest collective longing,
in joy and in suffering. This same intuitive sensibility comes through
my art in ways that continue to surprise me.
One
cannot take any of this “personally” however. The best any of us
can do with the mystery of the transformational process we are
experiencing is to be a willing participant in something largely
unavoidable. The end result of our participation will more resemble a
quantum leap than a conscious, deliberate “accomplishment.” If we
are honest with ourselves, any freedom, joy or good that comes with our
involvement would have to be held with humility and
gratitude and seen as an element of Grace.
DAWN:
Another key subject in your work, and life, is surrender—or, more
precisely, “being open to where surrender leads.”
Can you tell us more about that in connection with found
objects (another theme that provides the material for much of your
work) and how this is consciously integrated into daily life?
JERRY: Surrender is the
final act within the context and limits of human effort. It is the
defeat of self-determined, unconscious will—‘defeat’ only if
that will is attempting to push beyond its natural capacity for
meaningful action. Ultimately, surrender is the acceptance of
‘What Is’ in the face of an absolute void of possibility. The
end-place of surrender can easily be overlooked, ignored or missed
completely—as Lao Tsu warns, “Most people fail at the end.” If,
however, one is conscious enough to make a timely surrender, the
results can be miraculous. The end becomes the place where a
quantum leap carries limited reality over into unlimited new
expressions of freedom and remembering.
Surrender
is the holy defeat that brings into our lives at our moment of
“death” (metaphoric or literal) what has come to be called
“Eternity” or “Eternal Life.”
This final gift comes to us through grace and could not occur
without the prerequisite event of our timely surrender. In the
cyclical nature of our lives, we must re-experience that death in
ever-changing ways, and allow the grace we originally received to
carry us through anew. Eventually, grace becomes our most cherished
ally and we become adept at the discipline of surrender, realizing it
is the only viable path to freedom and joy we can cultivate.
Integrating
found objects into my work is a way of tending the requirements of the
moment and surrendering into that which presents itself. I do this by
paying attention to what calls and by working reverently with each
piece to reveal meaning and beauty. Some of the objects I use are
given to me and some are found in junk shops and recycle centers.
Clearly, everything is not for everyone or our lives would be filled
with an excess of meaningless junk (and some lives are!). Certain
objects seem to call attention to themselves or shimmer with
possibility.
There
is a kind of Alchemy involved in recognizing and allowing spirit in
matter to come alive in relation to the larger whole of a complex work
of art. Synchronicities come into play and deeper mysteries reveal
themselves in unexpected ways. Seemingly meaningless objects become
empowered and transformed into the gold of a complete expression in
the world. And cultivating this Alchemy to include all aspects of our
lives will turn everything into gold.
Jerry
Wennstrom
is an artist, author (The
Inspired Heart) and subject of a documentary (In
the Hands of Alchemy). He lectures nationally and writes for
Inferential Focus, a New York City think tank. See www.handsofalchemy.com
and www.heartalaska.com for
upcoming events in Alaska!
Dawn
Brunke
is the editor of Alaska Wellness and author of Animal
Voices and Awakening to Animal Voices. See www.animalvoices.net for
more.
