Y2K IN RETROSPECT – THOUGHTS ON THE COLLAPSE OF CUCKOO KINGDOM

THE ACTIONS AND TRENDS AMONG HUMANS ARE OFTEN MYSTERIOUS, YET I HAVE COME TO SEE THAT ALTHOUGH WE CAN’T ALWAYS EXPLAIN OURSELVES, THERE IS A COMMUNAL SENSE THAT STIRS CIVILIZATIONS, AND PERHAPS CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS, TO TUNE IN TO SOME INNER GUIDANCE.

WITHOUT THE FOCUS ON Y2K PRIOR TO THE MILLENNIUM, OUR COUNTRY WOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY UNPREPARED FOR THE DEVASTATION WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE BUT EXPERIENCED ON 9/11/2001.  WITHOUT FEAR ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGIES CRASHING DUE TO THE PROGRAMMING  QUESTION OF WHETHER THE LEAP FROM “99”  TO “00,” OR 2000 WOULD SHUT DOWN OR DESTROY ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS, THE COMPUTERS OF AMERICA, AND WORLDWIDE, WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN BACKED UP.  THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD TRADE TOWERS AND THE ATTACK ON THE PENTAGON WERE PAINFUL, BUT WE DID NOT LOSE CONTROL OF THE STOCK MARKET, TRANSPORTATION, EMERGENCY RESPONSE OR COMMUNICATIONS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD.

WHEN I SEE TRENDS IN OUR SOCIETY, I TRY TO LOOK DEEPER INTO WHAT THEY MAY ACTUALLY BE ABOUT.  WHAT SUBTLE WARNINGS OR FORESHADOWING OF EVENTS CAN BE DECIPHERED?  ALSO I HAVE BEEN FORCED TO LOOK MORE INTENTLY AT WHAT I AM CREATING/CHANNELING.  WHILE MAKING THE PAINTINGS FOR THIS Y2K SHOW, I ALSO CREATED 70 IMAGES THAT SEEMED INTENSE BUT UNRELATED. I PUT THEM AWAY IN A BOX, AND FRAMED THE PIECES BELOW FOR A DECEMBER 1999 SOLO SHOW IN ASHLAND, OREGON.  IN 2004 I INVENTORIED ALL MY ARTWORK AND FOUND THE 70 INK MONOTYPES, ALL WITH FIRES, DESTROYED BUILDINGS, PLANES AND TWIN TOWERS!  HAVING NEVER FOLLOWED ACTS OF TERRORISM, IT WAS SURPRISING TO FIND THAT SOMEHOW I WAS PICKING UP YET NOT SEEING A GLIMPSE OF FUTURE EVENTS.  THE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUS AND THE “EXTENDED ANTENNAE” OF ARTISTS CAN BE A STRONG GUIDE FOR THE FUTURE.

Catie Faryl, January 2013

 

ART STATEMENT FOR “COLLAPSE OF CUCKOO KINGDOM”  DECEMBER 1999

Y2K IS EVERY DAY

AN ALARM HAS BEEN SOUNDED BY THE MILLENNIUM CUCKOO.  WILL OUR ENTRANCE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY BE DEVASTATING OR DELIGHTFUL?  ONLY TIME WILL TELL.  THE WORK IN THIS SHOW IS BASED ON MY IMPRESSIONS FROM RECENT ITEMS IN THE NEWS AND MY EXPRESSIONS OF FEAR AND HOPEFULNESS FOR A BRAVE NEW WORLD.

IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD Y2K IS EVERY DAY; POWER OUTAGES, LACK OF CLEAN WATER AND MEDICAL ATTENTION, FOOD SHORTAGES, POLITICAL UPHEAVAL AND WAR ARE COMMON OCCURRENCES.  WILL OUR TECHNOLOGY BRING US TO OUR KNEES OR DO WE HAVE FAITH, TIME AND COURAGE ENOUGH TO BUILD A WORLD WHERE THE PRIORITIES ARE HEALTH AND WEALTH ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE?  IS THE CHANGE FROM 1999 TO 2000 AS SIGNIFICANT OR DOES IT SYMBOLIZE DEEPER, SLOWER CHANGES IN IDEAS AND BELIEFS ALREADY UNDERWAY?

WHY “CUCKOO KINGDOM”?

– A TRUE STORY ABOUT THE TITLE “COLLAPSE OF CUCKOO KINGDOM”:

ONCE THERE WAS A SMALL SHOP CALLED CUCKOO KINGDOM.  A LITTLE OWNER TRIED TO EKE OUT A LIVING SELLING MANY VARIETIES OF CLOCKS.  THE SHOP EPITOMIZED ALL THAT WAS DARLING, QUAINT AND DYING IN THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY IN SMALL TOWN AMERICA.  THE ENDEARING ACCUMULATION OF CUTE, DECORATIVE ITEMS.  THE BELIEF THAT SMALL ENTERPRISE COULD BE GOOD AND PROUD AND SUCCESSFUL.  LIKE THE LOCOMOTIVE, THE TYPEWRITER AND FRAMED PICTURES, THERE REMAINED A CERTAIN NOSTALGIA BUT NO MARKET FOR THE CUCKOO CLOCKS.  HOW COULD THIS SHOP BE SO SAD AND SO CHARMING AT THE SAME TIME, SO PATHETIC YET POIGNANT?  SO MUCH EFFORT FOR SO FEW REWARDS, SHOPKEEPERS, LIKE ARTISTS, MAKE A GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY THAT MIGHT NOT BE MISSED UNTIL IT IS GONE.

THE FORCED IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION MAY  BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BY USING HYPE AND HYSTERIA ABOUT Y2K TO HIDE THE HUGE IMPACT OF THIS JOB-KILLING LEGISLATION.  A NEW ORDER IS UNDERWAY.  TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING.

Catie Faryl Levitt