The Imposition of Order
   Upon Nature  1997 
Acrylic on canvas, white and black birch frame    63 x 63”

“Chaos is the law of nature.  Order is the dream of man.” 
-Henry Adams

   This painting is almost perfectly symmetrical.  The right side is a mirror image of the left.  Even the frame is symmetrical.  The only exception is the full moon.
   The painting is about the order that makind imposes upon nature, an imposition primarily in the service of industry and
recreation and aesthetics.  An order that is not neccessarily bad, but certainly not natural.
   The unnatural, unhealthy, and  absurd end result of this order is shown here by the two-headed fish, while the two hills behind the bear represent the female, regenerative and nurturing aspect of “mother nature.”   
   The moon, relatively untouched by humanity, is the only element in the painting that exists outside of mankind’s (and the artist’s) imposed order.  It is shown how we see it here from earth, complete with the “man in the moon,” our species-centric interpretation of the highlights and shadows created by its hills and valleys.