The two small pieces from the current series of works now being developed are dancers and this is a preview of the new pieces being worked on. A more comprehensive showing of the "Quadreverz" series is featured in its own site.  

I am fascinated by the costuming of dancers from indigenous cultures and how external elements are almost seamlessly integrated with the body, sometimes. Then the performer is actually transformed into the being that is represented. I remember seeing a performance once,that was one of the most remarkable of all. A Japanese dancer/actor perfomed only in a loin cloth without any accessories. With the power of his mind and the strength and control of his body, he actually metamorphosed into a butterfly and other things, one after another, as well. It was convincing and believable. Such is the power of dance.

The imaginative and resourceful approach to sculpting and transforming the human body in performance, such as those used by the Nikolias and the Pilobolus dance groups, have left a powerful and lasting impression in my mind. I have learned a great deal about how the human body may be used as an expressive element and transferred that form into my work.

In the small sculptures I use only a mask to define the character role, then enhance the figures with polychroming and gesture. I was interested in trying a single unit on a body to define the whole dress up role the imagined performer is engaged in. This is not the main focus of each of the pieces but only a detailing of the approach taken.

The "Birdman Turtle Dance" was created to express the idea of moving towards and past the limits of one's capabilities. It takes time and persistence to achieve a higher level of accomplishmnent, whether spiritually or otherwise. It is the aim of some, to transcend the physical and psychic limitations that we normally place upon ourselves. It is possible to reach other places and it is one's willingness to believe and excercise that belief, that will break the bonds that hold us back.

This dancer is the airborne bird and although he is rooted firmly to the mound of time (the turtle), it is the actual time itself which will propel him to his higher goal. It is the idea of the partnership between excercise and persistence that this piece tries to convey, through the suggestions of gesture and form.

The other small group "Conflict" had come about as a result of my interest in NFL football games. Don't ask me why that sport interests me, I have no idea at all, it just does. One time I was thinking about this sport and the metaphor it must be expressing, to hold the interest of so many fans. It is that damned football, that is the focus. And I thought that this oblong shape must indeed represent in some way, the internal spirit within all of us.

I carried this line of thought over to our own lives and elaborated on the idea. I live in a tough neighborhood and the folks around here have all they can do, just to survive a single day, much less a lifetime. Yet they struggle on and it is for the preservation of their spirit, that they will face insurmountable odds against their lives. I wanted to say something about this and so I created this little gladiator type dance piece for the expression.

I have the two figures in mortal combat, there is no mistake about that. The smaller and lighter figure is resisting the force of the mightier one and it is for the survival of his spirit, which he is carrying in that box held in his left hand. This is a work about ferocity and lethal consequences. It is about desperate determination to not only survive, but to survive with the spirit intact. It is about the simple human struggle to make certain that we see the rising of tomorrow's sun and not the shadow of the eclipsed moon.

This is just a small and simple statement but I wanted to include it in this collection. The one interesting thing about using the dance form in sculpture is that it feels right to express an idea, in a literal and even theatrical way, when the subject calls for such treatment. The concept can still be conveyed in sculptural terms and without compromise.

Chris Ray