For arts sake Episode “Peter Zokosky, Painter” Peter: I am going to talk about a painting that is in progress, which is a little bit foolish. But in this painting I though it would be interesting to show this ape or monkey standing on it hind legs and its holding a rock. And then meanwhile what’s going on is the crabs, as the day light comes in they have to go back in the water. This creature which is, I am not sure if it really knows there is a threat. Maybe it just senses something in its field of vision its not sure of how to deal with it and of course that makes me think abut us. We are all the time faced with threat and something that can hurt us. I think the crab is in this dilemma that if it stays were it is its going to die, its going to get baked in the sun. It has to get back to the water. Yet there is something in the ay. Water represents safety but it also represents death in this particular case. Because the monkey is smart enough to know if it places itself between the water and the sun it can get the crab. And I think there is that overriding inevitability about life and death in all of our little dramas. Getting rid of the horizon line I think was just something about zeroing in on the little drama. And I thought that with a few shadows, a little bit of water. A little bit of foam it would tell the story enough and be less about the place that’s happening and more about the relationship between animals. My intent I don’t expect somebody to get that, the intent had to be there on my part to sort of push me on to do it and be fully engaged in the struggle. There is a huge amount that’s subconscious, subliminal. Or in that realm where you’re just trying to make it right and you don’t even know what right means but you have to feel like something is there. And a huge part of when a painting is satisfying is when it feels right. Not when everything line sup mathematically and not when it conforms to your preconceived ideas. But when it somehow just feels like its done what it’s done. So if somebody else has a different interpretation about what a painting means, that’s fine. I think that’s quite good, and maybe they are right. I think the visual arts actually do that. They dint put it into words, but they put it into concrete form. Therein lies the efficiency, the beauty, the thrill of it, when that thing in the eternal world encapsulates that kind of internal feeling. I can’t help but think that’s important. When that is achieved the art that I saw as a child, when I go back and see the same art, it has different meaning for me now and it is every bit as profound and every bit as amazing, and you wonder how did that artist make a painting for a middle age man? And how is it that that painting was made for me as a child? Why is it that it works so well for whatever level of development I was at? And I think that when you are tapping in to or uncovering something that approaches a universal or whatever. I don’t know if I believe in universals. But I do think one can get closer and closer to something that almost speaks in a universal voice. To all people and all time. I think mystery is extremely important and I think all the most important things are mysterious. But I think, to have a better grasp on the unknown is an interesting endeavor, fully realizing that you will never get it. And I think that maybe that is something that is wonderful about life and being a human being is that you’re going to end up dust. But in the meantime you can experience something so profound and so amazing and I think that it is a good reminder that the dust that is where we are heading and that is, that’s fine that’s ok. But it doesn’t in any way negates the beauty and the experience of all of this. This doesn’t become mere mortal coil that will soon be dropped, and then we will be in a stable state again. It is this transitory, mysterious, ridiculous, sublime, beautiful, terrifying, thing that we get to experience for a very, very finite period of time. And I love that. And if art can scratch away at that I think that it’s doing something meaningful.