while I was studying ritual in Australia, I spent several weeks with aboriginal people. What I found is that possibly because they have been in Australia so long and possibly because they had been isolated for so long their whole belief system and culture was very primal and different than anything I had experienced. Yet the fundamental ideas were so relatable. Not only relatable, but in many ways, totally analogous to my understanding of my own religion, Judaism For example, one of the creation maths or foundations of aboriginal beliefs is that creation was created when one of the spirit elders of God whispered creation. In other words, the idea was that reifying or speaking the name of something creates it. This is very similar to Judaism. One of the things we learned is that first there was the word. Not only that, but by declaring things and an ideas during the seven days of creation they became. So I was very impressed by Aboriginal art, yet I didn't want to copy it. In other words, I didn't wanna make aboriginal circles or try to imitate their artistic and spiritual style. My feeling is always it's fine to imitate or copy things. Yet I also believe it's really special when we can take something from a culture or people or even an artist we like and then embellish and improvise something new based on what we have seen, and what we add of ourselves. What I mean by this is take an idea and then create that both speaks to the new experience and learning, but also is something I contribute of myself. I thought about the environment of Australia, I thought about the depth and warmth and immediacy of the Aboriginal people, and the wonderful folk I spent time with, and then I let my own spirit be the guide. I wasn't attempting to emulate Aboriginal ideas. Instead, what I wanted to do was represent what I assimilated aesthetically in Australia, as well as the spiritual riches I assimilated.

Artwork Size & Ink Base:

61 x122

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Daniel Aaron Schwartz

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