Yumpu_Catalogue_Peacemaking
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Literally, they can be touched and a<br />
subliminal understanding within my mind and<br />
heart is transformed into reality. Connecting<br />
these dots is like tracing constellations with a<br />
paintbrush. Look up into the darkness of the<br />
night sky and be awed by the unknown. In the<br />
vastness of the universe, humankind is a speck<br />
in that celestial sky. Our wars and worries,<br />
joys and dreams are inconsequential in the<br />
scope of outer space. Seeking peace amidst<br />
the troubles of the world seems like a mirage.<br />
Helen Beekman<br />
Helen Beekman, sculptor and painter, works<br />
and lives in New York City. She grew up in<br />
Menlo Park and Inverness, California and in<br />
1971 received a B.A. in Fine Art (focusing on<br />
sculpture) from Mills College in Oakland,<br />
California. Helen Beekman was a visiting artist<br />
at The American Academy in Rome. Her work is<br />
in private, corporate and museum collections.<br />
“Peace is as mercurial as the night sky. Trying<br />
to capture peace or holding stars in your hand<br />
is a daydream. I want you to look deeply into<br />
my hay sculptures. The painted hay is<br />
manipulated on neutral surfaces where my<br />
wordless thoughts and visions only imagined<br />
become three dimensional palettes. Stars fall<br />
into the hay like fireflies landing on grass.<br />
Still, I am a believer in peace. I am uplifted<br />
knowing that while our home rock floats in<br />
the infinite darkness of nothingness, twinkling<br />
lights brighten churning chaos. We are made<br />
of stardust, the identical atomic elements<br />
(oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen) of<br />
the Milky Way. This is humbling but the very<br />
nature of humans has something intangible,<br />
optimism.<br />
I peer into the night sky and hear John<br />
Lennon’s song Imagine. I feel a sense of<br />
possibility and peace. We humans are<br />
stubborn, arrogant yet we try to be good<br />
citizens on earth. We will fight for our blue<br />
planet and peace. We are stardust with a<br />
shared responsibility.”<br />
Helen Beekman | April 2018<br />
Shooting Stars<br />
Hay, acrylic on Masonite<br />
104 x 102 cm | 2017<br />
www.helenbeekmanart.com