Brian Fisher Print, Paint and Sculpture Blog

Many Greek and Roman myths tell of the twin brothers Castor and Pollux. They are known as the Dioscuri in Greek and as Gemini or Castores in Latin. The brothers shared Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece in the Argonautica and they’re the familial heroes when Theseus and Pirithous abducted their sister Helen. Though their mother was Leda, Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, King of Sparta, and Pollux was the divine son of Zeus who had seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. They are sometimes said to have been born from an egg or eggs, along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Castor was killed in a family feud after he and Pollux fell in love with and abducted Phoebe and Hilaeira, consorts of their cousins Lynceus and Idas.  Pollux asked his father Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini.  Sharing also meant they had to spend equal time in the underworld....

Hylas, Lost to Love  14  x 14 in.  Rust Monoprint Apollonios Rhodios wrote his version of the Argonautika, the story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece, in the 3rd century BC but this Hero's story is probably the oldest extant Greek myth. When I began my investigation of “rust” as a medium for creative process a year and a half ago I decided to make the Argonautika the subject for my personal quest and chose Peter Green’s translation of the Argonautika as source for my imagery.  Below, Green describes the fate of Hercules companion, Hylas in a significant chapter of the Argonautika. 'Hylas, then, came to the spring that was known as The Fountains by local inhabitants. Just now, as it chanced, the dances of the nymphs were being held there; for it was their custom, that of all the nymphs who dwelt around that lovely mountain, ever to honor Artemis with nocturnal song. Now all whose haunts were hilltops or mountain torrents, the guardian wood nymphs,...

The Calydonian Boar is one of many new Monoprints and paintings on display in my solo show at the Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery , August 3 thru September 5.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Vashon First Friday opening reception.  Thank you friends and patrons for stopping by to see what art I have been making this past spring and early summer. The Hardware Store Resturant and Gallery is a celebrated destination Vashon eatery and unique venue for artists. Thank you Hardware Store Restaurant and Gallery owner Melinda Sontgerath and manager Alex Van Amburg for an invitation to show in the gallery. The Calydonian Boar hunt in Greek myth celebrates the victorious hero Meleager and heroine Atlanta.  They are each also part of the Argonautica crew and the epic quest for the Golden Fleece.

My Rust Print “Jason” is intended  to represent a hero’s  journey.  Specifically it is meant to encapsulate the story of the Argonautika, the Quest for the Golden Fleece and introduce a series of prints made from rust whose subject is Journey. Not long after Jason’s birth the throne of his father Aeson, benevolent king of Iolcus, (Thessaly Greece today), was usurped by Pelias his tyrannical half brother.  Pelias threatened to kill any who might challenge his claim to the kingdom, so Jason was hidden and the story of his untimely death told to deceive Pelias.   Jason , (12 x 12 x 1.5 in.), is made by rusting a COR-TEN steel plate to muslin fabric, mounting that fabric to dimensional panel and then finishing it with acrylic and wax mediums.  Jason and four more Rust Prints from the Journey series will be exhibited in my studio, studio number 6, during the Spring 2012 Vashon Studio Tour.

Medea , Monotype, (13.25 x 17.75 in.)  “Behind every great man there is a great woman,” or so the saying goes.  In the myth of The Argonautika, Medea is the heroine behind the hero and is absolutely devoted to Jason, though she also desires power in her own right.   She is the most complex character in The Argonautika and not everything works out well for those she perceives as a threat or for those who have wronged Jason. Because of Euripide’s characterization of her in his play “ Medea ,” she will forever be maligned and remembered for “doin’ it for herself.”   However, without Media, there is absolutely no “winning” of the Golden Fleece for Jason.   Only Media’s magical knowledge and sacrifice of political allegiance, position and family make Jason’s Quest for the Golden Fleece possible.

 The Monotype,  Medea ,  will be exhibited in my studio, 23520 147th Ave SW, Vashon Island WA., Studio  #11, during the 2011 Vashon Island...