The Flight of the Jaguar Magician

Thu, Aug 4
August 4th Opening, 6pm-10pm
FREE

Willow, renowned Bay Area artist for his magical, mystical,
phantasmagoric sculpture, installation and performance, brings an
important medicine art show to San Francisco. Combining clay and
mixed media sculpture and acrylic paintings, Willow's exhibitions
invite the viewer to consider their relationship to the stars,
nature, magic and mythology. His figurative forms are as wild as
those of mother nature; he designs pieces which are intended to
evolve and expand consciousness--portals of the imagination. Using
very specific symbols, Willow creates art that animates spirit, and
moves well beyond normal object-oriented art.
Born in 1961, in Lancaster, Ohio, Willow lives in Petaluma,
California. His work has been featured in many solo and group
exhibitions around the world, including La Meridiana, in Tuscany, Italy.
Willow speaks of the coming exhibition in San Francisco:
"When a culture, such as Queer Culture, loses it's mythologies, it's
stories, it is marginalized, discriminated against, and harassed by
mainstream influences. In past times same-sex loving people have
been revered, considered magicians, even to transcend gender or to be
epicene people. We were the edge-working magicians. However, as
queer people were stripped of their mythological base over the last
millennia, they have been ridiculed, tortured and murdered by
societies which came to curse such magical lifestyles. In an effort
to restore, and create new mythology for Queer Spirited people, I
have created an exhibition/installation called, El Vuelo del Mago
Jaguar, or Flight of the Jaguar Magician. More than inviting in
historical mythologies of Gay people, I wanted to create a new
mythological story that could be shared with each other, our children
and the larger society. An inspiring faerie-tale was conceived
during my recent artist retreat in Nayarit, Mexico, where more than
18 paintings were created to visually reveal the story of the Jaguar
Magician. This type of magician restores impeccable beauty to the
creative and imaginative core of humanity. The mysterious story shows
the path of initiation for a queer/two-spirit boy to become a healer
and spiritual leader on Earth. Queer people aren't going away. Our
magic is needed now more than ever."

Along with the paintings, Willow has written a short faerie-tale to
animate the images. Creating a new mythos about the training or
initiation of a Queer Shaman was inspired from the tragic events
which seem to follow gay citizens around the globe. After the
onslaught of AIDS/HIV, interest in Queer Spiritualism began to rise
and many began to trace origins of cultures which revered two-spirit
people as magical. Many Queer people found themselves peripheralized
by modern religions and societal norms on ceremony around death. Yet,
in some cultures, gay people were seen as pyschopomps or magicians to
traverse worlds. Further, with the recent deliberation around the
world on same sex marriages as to whether such a union is ethical
under God, Willow felt it was time to instill the Queer Culture with
new magical, visual myths to help reclaim an image of a sacred
peoplethose who have transcended gender or become a third
gender.
In a previous exhibition in 2001 called, Homoeroticism and the
Sacred, Willow created a number of sculptures and paintings to share
images of the past which referred to Queer spirited people as a
magical beings. In this latest exhibition, Willow has gone further
and created an entirely new myth for gay people, with a series of
vibrant, energetic paintings and story to go with them. The artist
feels that Queer Culture desperately needs to create new myths and
glean from past stories, ultimately helping to restore, and invite in
a dynamic paradigm shift that presents same-sex loving people as an
integral, magical, and viable part of the modern day society. Queer
People have been healing magicians for centuries, and it is time to
reclaim this magical stance in our world culture and prepare the way
for a swift change in consciousness. Willow will introduce the
Teatro Jaguar Luna, a puppet performance group in 2006 using similar
themes.
What were Gay people to the collective society? What can they be now
to assist in one of the greatest transformations of consciousness
ever? El Vuelo del Mago Jaguar is the visual journey that intends to
welcome the magical counterpart of modern society--Queer People. The
creative flow of Queer Culture is universal and holds a critical part
in healing the relationship with humanity and life on
Earthbefore it is too late.

Willow will be joined by musical magicians on opening night, August
4th, Lucia Comnes and Bradley Blalock. During the performance
ritual, their exotic, mystical trance accompaniment will include
marimba, drum, vocalization and violin. Miss Comnes has recently
returned from a semester studying inidigenous music and issues in
Costa Rica. She has performed solo and sang and played violin for
Kitka and Cerulean Ensemble (formerly Sestri). Mr. Blalock has
performed with Tito La Rosa, Anna Halprin, Jamie McHugh, Ilyas Ilya
and solo at non-profit fundraisers. He currently has a CD of his
work available.

NOTE: Percentage of proceeds from first week sales go to Project
Open Hand

Venue:

Blue Gallery
731 Polk Street
San Francisco
415-563-3596
www.bluegallerysf.com

San Francisco's Polk Gulch District, 731 POLK ST. at Eddy, Blue
Building on cornder of alley

Additional Info:

415-563-3596
www.deep-woods-art.com