Surreal Artist Joseph Cusimano

Persephone's Return

Painting: Oil on canvas, 1977, 90cm x 65cm (36" x 26")

"Persephone" (anthropomorphous tree) returns to take part in the rites of Spring (awakening of nature - green; awakening of emotions - man and woman rushing towards each other). She will stay on earth for the full cycle of vegetation. At the end of autumn she has to return to the underworld and to Pluto, the king who abducted her from a valley in Sicily and forcefully carried her to his dark kingdom. The Earth and Sky witness (eye) this recurring ritual. The open parallelepipeds (tunnel to the underworld) remind "Persephone" of her predestinate fate. The symbolism of Spring (the green of the grass and the tree-Persephone) and of the underworld (stone-skull) is also recorded in the mountain (full figures and details embedded into it) to remind the viewer that we will know only one Spring in the seasons of our lives and that we will be lucky if we will live to remember.

Joseph Cusimano

La Metamorfosi Del Ricordo (The Metamorphosis of Memory)

A woman sits on the stone bench in the forgotten land of our memory. She turns slightly away from the sight of Mount Eurako and gazes at the far away mountains in search of lost images that will enrich the Past and become the beacon for the Future.

The spiritual sensuality of the composition unfolds in the sky (clouds, bird) which fades away at the horizon where the inner loftiness of spirit (mountains) seeks to discover the unconscious realm of the mind (water-sea).

Joseph Cusimano

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Fuga (Escape)

Surreal Meaning:

Clouds: Clouds give life to our dreams and "... enrich the mystery of the infinite" but dreams change with the changing winds of Time. They are always in a state of metamorphosis... moving ceaselessly between heaven and earth. They come and go leaving only a fading memory of their brief passage through our consciousness... taking the shape of living creatures to stimulate our minds and stir our emotions. I use the clouds to widen the perspective of our perception and enhance the verticality of the composition.

Cone: The cone is a complex image derived from the metaphysical association of the circle with the triangle, evolutive in its form (vertical thrust), eternal in its oneness. It is also symbolic of the sun in general and, in my creations, of man in particlar. It is a metaphor for manhood.

Cube: The cube is the metamorphosis of the square which is characterized by the quality of stability, solidity and clarity. By adding numbers on each side of its sides, the cube becomes the symbol of chance and alluring fortunes. On one hand it symbolizes the dynamic forces of nature and on the other hand the fickle consequences of a throw... at times life itself is reduced to a game of chance.

Sphere: The ideal sphere, often associated with ether and heaven, is a symbol of intellectual life and it is bound to procreate not only pure thoughts but life itself thus becoming the symbol for womanhood (pregnancy gives an appearance of sphericality -- ball-shaped). A ball is strong and resilient... so is woman.

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Related artworks:

Transformation

Twilight Zone

La Ricerca Metafisica della lumia di Sicilia nella mitologia dei segni

The "Lumia" is a small sweet lemon found in the gardens of Sicily and other Mediterranean countries. It is the symbol of a land burned by a scorching sun, the memory of the emigrant, the thrill of the young and the wisdom of the old. It is a dying species in search of salvation on the beach of despair.

There, under this arboreal umbrella, rests a broken down ship without oars, without masts and without sailors. It is the ship that inspired Ulysses and Columbus to dare the unknown, it is the ship of fools, the ship of dreamers, the ship of sages and the eternal ship of hope. The metaphysical search of the Sicilian lumia will not end at the horizon of time but will continue into eternity.

Joseph Cusimano

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Il Cavaliere Misterioso (The Mysterious Rider)

"Il Cavaliere" reproposes the relation between Time and Space. It is at once the simplest and the most abstract of relationships. It is the simplest because when you move from a place to another, it takes a certain time; it is the most abstract because even if you stand still and let your mind move as your body would, it would also take a certain time. So every step in space is a step into time.

Man's existence is most evident in the ruins he leaves behind. There is part of an aqueduct with heads of stone that testify to some mysterious ritual, with a sculpted woman who leaves the acqueduct and walks into the Past when she was made of flesh and not of stone. There is "Il Cavaliere" on his horse galloping towards the Present when, no longer young, he is made of stone (head of "Il Cavaliere" over the niche).

Only when he crosses the arch of Time this metaphysical relationship is cemented. (Under the vigilant glace of a passing cloud, the hermetic gallop of the Artist into history is sanctioned.)

Joseph Cusimano

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La Metamorfosi di Venere (The Metamorphosis of Venus)

The rose rises from the depth of our soul and floats in the infinite blue space of our mind. It is the symbol of love that overcomes the emotional turmoil of a rousing passion (running figure); it is the personification of Venus, the elusive and tantalizing goddess of everlasting happiness. She stands at the centre of our perception surrounded by anthropomorphous clouds that recall the inhabitants of the sea (clouds shaped as shark, turtle, dolphin) as they reflect on the transitory aspect of life and the legacy of our memory (as it is) articulated on the undulating rocks in the landscape of time (ruins).

"The Metamorphosis of Venus" (red ball - red rose, white torso - white cloud) allows our feelings to petrify (rocks) before the end of our passionate journey as a reminder to those who will follow that the present is not only embedded in the past but it also stands as a beacon for the future.

Joseph Cusimano

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Il Riposo delle Maschere (Masks Resting)

We all wear social masks. The magic character of this transformation which allows us to become "something else" often creates ambiguity and equivocation. The metamorphosis of appearance cannot be sustained infinitely even if one is "what-one-would-like-to-be".

It is in surrendering our masks at a point in the infinite stretch of Time, that we regain our inner humanity and spirituality (bird).

Joseph Cusimano