"Lottery" by Nathan Orie

Nathan Orie will be exhibiting at the Thayer Memorial Library 710 Main St. Lancaster, MA July and all of August 2009.

Nathan's unique paintings will thrill you as well as make you think about social issues. There is also hidden images and messages in some of the paintings that can only be viewed in the dark.

More information about Nathan-

Nathan Orie and His Art
Artist’s Statement

This art show is a testament to where we are as a searching people. It is my intention that the pieces of this show direct us back to the original questions. We exist in an era that defies definition; henceforth, we have construed more definitions of our post-modern culture than is necessary or useful. We are so intent on finding the answers that all answers have become equally valid. And rightly so, for any answer can be correct if the question has been disregarded of misplaced along the way. This show is a call to reject the deconstructions and fragmentations of post-modernity and enter into an era where we can reclaim the questions that have been lost to us.

In teaching English to middle school students in Springfield, I have noticed that when my students are asked a question that involves thinking, they really desire to know the answers. At first I was excited that they were actually engrossed with my lesson, but then I became more wary. I ask them a question relating to the reading, and more often than not a student will yell out, “Just tell us, Mr. Orie!!!” It seems that they want the answers so badly that they are willing to forego the question to get the answer. This has inspired me to ask through my art why we are so intent on finding answers to questions that we do not care to actually explore. In these art pieces I have wrestled with questions about human rights, suffering and even questions we ask of God himself, such as “Are you there, God? And if you are, how do I know?”

Sir Francis Bacon said that knowledge is power, and I am beginning to wonder how true this can be when knowledge is only a few keystrokes away on my computer. The value of knowledge has been cheapened by the accessibility to information. Our economy is based on supply and demand. If this is true for information as well, then our supply has far exceeded our demand, and information has become inadequate. Knowledge saturates our vision so consistently that I cannot drive down the road without being given information on what watch I should buy, what car dealership has the best cars, and which coffee I will run on each morning. We have enough information, and I would therefore propose that while knowledge may contain power, it is in the pursuit of knowledge that we find true strength. We can readdress the eternal questions that have been given to us and develop relationships around these questions, transcending the cold calculations of the billions of terabytes of information available to us. Then, we can instead focus on where we are as a people, and realize that we are still pondering the same thoughts that have been pondered since the dawn of time.