The Rose Window: Past, Present, and Future

This is our anniversary gift from our 2 sons and daughter-in-laws. It is so wonderful for many reasons:
1)the boys went together to research this. (total surprise to us)
2)it was gutsy of them to buy us art.
3)they knew enough about NW coast native art (one of our special interests, we have had many art courses and related travels.)
4)everyone had an input (like, the theme...) but our 2 sons both agreed they liked this piece, even tho this artist is non-indigenous.
5)It seemed so appropriate for a milestone like this.
6)it could fit in several places - we haven’t decided yet, but may take it to the island where it can be outside. It’s made of corten steel, 36” in diameter and will rust a bit more with weather
7) We love it! and them!!

The Artist is Barry Herem. He can best describe this piece in his Artist Statement.

“Rose window” is the term for the often enormous stone circles of inset glass from europe’s medieval cathedrals, a theme that has interested me for some time. the overall circle with its inner spiral configuration comes from a small design in the 9th century Irish book of Kells on display in Dublin.

I have turned this into a kind of formline design, with three images within the large circle.
The design on the left represents the past. It is a traditional ovoid, a shape seen in sll classic Northwest coast formline design.

The design on the right is free form, loose and flowin, and represents the present. Deconstructed, and yet not without the characteristic flow of harmoniously tracitional U-forms and S-curves, this work retains the organic lines of classic design yet represents no given creature or crest. It is design for its own sake which nevertheless includes those kinds of shapes which make up the fins, feathers, baks, tlons and relief marks seen in much Northwest Coast-style work.

The design on the top represents the future. it is a human figure bearing with him the essential elements of classic formline design (the term for th wide and narrow lines of directional flow in Northwest dtyle art.) he is shown in profile with right side arm, knee and foot headed off in new directions with important design elements under arm and attached to his back and backside. He appears to be rushing off into the future of his own making.”

Here it leans against a wall in our condo (on a matt- it’s steel and weighs 50 pounds!)
We may decide to install it outside at our cabin in the gulf islands, where Northwest coast natives surely spent some time...will blip it again I’m sure in its place, (away from a wall, it looks cool with the shadows underneath…)but at this time of year when we’re all thinking of past connections and new year’s resolutions for the future, it seemed so appropriate for now.