On the Cusp

In common parlance, a cusp is an important moment usually regarded as a decision point upon which consequent events are determined. But the word “cusp” has other meanings as well; a triangular fold or flap of a valve in the heart that allows the flow of blood in one direction only; a pointed projection formed by the intersection of two arcs, especially used in Gothic architecture; and either of the pointed ends of a crescent moon, or any celestial body appearing with the same curved shape. This installation touches on all these meanings.

Two arcs meet in this installation – two types of communication – the reporting of events by broadcast/print media and the disclosure of knowledge to humankind by a divine means (revelations) though our nightly dreams. What happens when one overlaps the other? Should we just not read the newspapers or watch the TV news before going to bed? How does seeing images of war, destruction, and suffering affect us? Do we get so used to seeing these things that they become less potent or do they seep into our subconscious minds? Does seeing such images propel us to act to change the world for the better, or do they make us more willing to deny the event’s existence unless it affects us personally? Or, as some might suggest, are they just a reflection of some divine will or plan? Can our nightly dreams still cleanse our minds of these images and unresolved thoughts and feelings built up during our waking hours? How is something revealed or communicated by divine means in this day and age? These are some of the questions I asked myself while working on the pieces for this installation.

The large wooden framed panels are from the States of Grace series. They draw upon the layout of typical medieval and renaissance European books of hours, evoking the divine in the human figure – states of grace revealed in a single moment. The roses or rose petals in each image signify veneration, but also connote the passage of time and the fragility of life. The beauty of the natural world, and the glorious jewel-toned patterns and gold leaf found on the borders of illuminated manuscripts, are also referenced in each work. The titles refer to the eight canonical hours of the day and the seven days of the week: Matins (midnight), Lauds (sunrise), Prime (6:00 am), Terce (9:00 am), Sext (noon), None (3:00 pm), Vespers (sunset), Compline (9:00 pm). These images impart the nobility, the beauty and the sacred found in all people. But like some of the central images found in medieval books of hours, some of the images in this series reveal current events and provide a means for personal reflection on the significance of these events in our lives.

In the largest panel entitled Revelations I have fallen asleep while reading a book of hours and have just begun to dream. Butterflies, the symbol of transformation and of the soul, surround me. Are the images in the other panels influenced by the book of hours I was reading, or by the books I read found on the bedside table (politics, world religions, Eastern/Western philosophies), or by the stack of New York Times (painted white with gold leaf) surrounding the bed in the installation? Our present-day “book of hours” is the news media that runs 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

In the wall drawings installation entitled Bedtime Stories, the young girl reads a fairy tale of a young couple in a far away land before going to bed. Will her dreams that night give her a reprieve from to her parents’ constant fighting (the young couple in the other panel) and the gang warfare in her neighborhood, and maybe even reveal a possible happy ending to the daily conflict of her waking hours?

The rose petals on the bed and within the dress forms relate to the panels, but also suggest life force and blood, and the cycle of growth and decay.

The black crows/ravens within the installation and in the video have multiple meanings, both good and bad, as reflected in the early American rhyme dealing with crows by the English colonists who landed on the North American shores:

One is for bad news,
Two is for mirth,
Three is a wedding,
Four is a birth,
Five is for riches,
Six is a thief,
Seven is a journey,
Eight is for grief,
Nine is a secret,
Ten is for sorrow,
Eleven is for love,
Twelve is for joy tomorrow.

Their appearance portends to a decisive moment – and its consequent events – the present and our possible future(s). Humankind seems to be on the cusp. This installation raises the question (or questions), but has no answers..You decide. We must all decide.

Laurel Garcia Colvin
Spring 2007

*The looped On the Cusp video created for this installation is designed to be projected on the wall above the bed in the installation, but due to the nature of the exhibition space at Manhattanville College, it was seen on a monitor placed on the bedside table.