Dan Curry Artist Statement
2019-2026
I grew up in the St. Louis
area during the 50’s and 60’s, was drafted into the army in 1970 and met my
wife, Donna in Philadelphia in 1971. Donna noticed my casual interest in art
and her encouragement was important in my decision to pursue training first at
the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and later at The
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1973-77. During my studies at the
academy I was strongly influenced by instructors Louis Sloan and Morris
Blackburn among many others including fellow students. From the history of art
the impressionist/naturalist painters left a strong impression on me. I also became interested in the American naturalist/transcendentalist
writers from the 19th century in Whitman, Thoreau and Emerson. My interest
was identified by my student peers who introduced me to contemporary naturalist/writers
Richard Groff and Helen and Scott Nearing.
This inspired and influenced my decision to move to a rural location
like Sullivan Co. in 1977 where we built our home and life on Ringer Hill. My art and landscapes, in particular, have
grown out of the richness of my life with my family here in
Mr. Groff and the Nearings
were important influences for me after my graduation from the
I found myself in an ideal
beautiful area to engage in landscape painting and have created a large body of
work representing my experience in this beautiful area of PA. When I travel I
seek more new subject matter for experiencing in my plein air attempts. I enjoy
direct encounters, plein air landscapes especially where I can encounter the
beautiful and various natural light effects. I paint because I wish to seek
inside myself for self-discovery and connecting. I view my efforts creating
images as a sensitizing process that promotes the possibility for elevating and
transforming my spiritual being. I hope to discover mystery and beauty in my
art. I feel that the art forms created are not the end product. They can be
beautiful symbols and traces on the path of self-realization and a spiritual
awakening. The arts possess the appeal of stimulation, entertainment and in our
present times need to be utilized also for elevating and evolving our society.
I like the reference by
Native Americans in describing the mystery of nature by the “Great Spirit” and
the Chinese reference to the “Tao” as the cosmic energy that moves all things.
The arts can help provide awareness to that cosmic energy and the magic and
mystery of our natural world that we depend on. My work with students is an
important sharing process that I can use in combination with my own production
of images. I believe that the large spiritual capacity in each of us often
remains dormant under the surface. Arts enrichment is a viable and direct
connection to this capacity. The reluctance or indifference by our
society/institutions to provide total accessibility to arts enrichment for
educational value reveals a lack of understanding. We should apply and
integrate arts in its wide variety of forms into the education process. This
should be done not necessarily to create more artists but to help all students’
access inspiration, built-in wisdom/individual insights and sensitivity. This
should be a basic expectation for human development. We can begin with all of
our children at the earliest age to help them get connected with their innate
wisdom and capacities. We owe it to our children so they can show us how to
change the world for the better if we will only help them.
Through my painting
experiences I have developed a deep appreciation for the harmonious balance
found in our natural world. It has become our challenge to adapt to the role of
responsible caretakers of our home. Education is of vital importance to steer
our priorities and development of improvements in our systems and technology.
The vitality of a learning environment is creativity and imagination. I like
Einstein's perception that "Imagination is more important than
knowledge." Can we imagine living in harmony with our natural world and
begin to create the ideas that will elevate and clean up our systems and use of
technology? In nature we have a model of perfection for harmony and
balance that I aspire to capture in my art. I believe that it is this harmony and balance
that is viable when connected to other areas of learning and living. Through a
reordering of priorities putting ethics and morality in charge, we can capture
these dynamics and integrate them into our systems. This will be
difficult or impossible without the fresh optimism of a new generation of
connected creative thinkers.
My Aspirations as a
producing artist
When you visit my web-site
(www.dan-curry.com) my exhibition history shows national and international
presence while being recognized by education administrators in the Job Corps
program and my professional colleagues who have included me in shows in the
Cairo Opera House Contemporary Art Gallery in
In the 1970’s I was fortunate to have met Richard U Groff from Landas Store area in PA. Richard introduced me to Thoreau through his essay/booklet titled “Thoreau and the Prophetic Tradition”. If you google his name and that title you can read this essay. On July 4th 1996 I produced a pencil sketch of HD Thoreau.
In
a statement that I used back in 2001 for the silk banner shared in this post
titled “Spiritual Poverty” I stated “Our emphasis on materialism reflects our
spiritual poverty. Our actions show how our priorities reflect disconnection
with nature and the creator. It requires mindlessness and emptiness to continue
to lay spoils to the world that we will pass onto our children” The final
statement in that paper attributed (maybe falsely) to Chief Seattle was
compelling for me to use as follows; “Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but a thread of it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All
things are bound together. All things connect. Whatever befalls the earth
befalls also the children of the earth.”
As was noted later it was not authenticated that the chief ever sent
this statement to President Pierce. So I stated; if so then isn’t it about time
we find a world leader who would embrace such a thought. Well we have a
beginning as our President Obama spearheaded the global climate change
initiative in
Pope Francis on Climate
Change
Last
year Pope Francis provided his insights to our country when he visited the
ByBradford
Richardson- The
Pope
Francis is imploring Catholics to confess their sins against the environment,
calling the degradation of the climate a “sin against God.”
In
his message marking the World day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on
Thursday, the pontiff said climate change is caused in part by human activity,
leads to extreme weather and disproportionately affects the least advantaged
around the world.
“Global
warming continues, due in part to human activity: 2015 was the warmest year on
record, and 2016 will likely be warmer still,” Francis said. “This is leading
to ever more severe droughts, floods, fires and extreme weather events.”
”The
world’s poor, though least responsible for climate change, are most vulnerable
and already suffering its impact,” he said.
Citing
last year’s controversial encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si,” the
pontiff said “for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land,
its air, and its life “these are sins.”
He
added that “to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against
ourselves and a sin against God”
On April 26, 2004 I photographed this American Flag that was created by the art students at Red Rock Job Corps and was eventually gifted to US Senator Bob Casey's office in Philadelphia. This flag was created and displayed first in Dushore on flag day back in that time frame. Later it appeared in the office of US Senator Santorum whose office reps had submitted a nomination for myself and the art program at RRJCC for the "National Medal of Arts" which we were not awarded just nominated by them. Our regional Job Corps art was being featured in Olde City Philadelphia at the Nexus art gallery for several years and was noticed by the senator's office staff which lead to the nomination and later a display of our art in the Capitol Rotunda in DC in 1997. When Bob Casey defeated Santorum we moved the flag to his office.
