Language of Maps

by Christopher Engel

48″ x 51″ – Mixed Media on Paper

Unframed

The works in Engel’s abstract and figurative series, “Reverence for Road Signs and Travelers,” reference calligraphy, graffiti, marks on walls, tar patches, ripples in water – lines bending into patterns of vibrant colors rushing together in a dazzling display of forms reminiscent of hieroglyphics and simultaneously related to the fabric of life itself. Signs and symbols along the human journey. The faces and figures of “travelers” swirl with numeric symbols, words, and collaged images. We are reminded of moments occurring in the past and continuing their existence in the present, then proceeding on to the future. They ripple, reverberate, and echo their ancient wisdom.

Engel explains, “Ultimately, we are simple parts of nature, thrust into a cacophony of thoughts and feelings. We try to make sense of life, just as those first people who created forms of language sought a way to break the silence, to speak across time, to communicate to those we may never meet. Images and patterns that span from the beginning of human consciousness to the present; messages expressing though we are only passing through this life momentarily, we each are a part of something that never ends.”

Engel continues,
“We are travelers even if we stand still.
We are in constant motion.
Whether we open our eyes or deep in sleep, we are witnesses and participants in the flow of images, ideas, and movements that make up our universe.
From the marks on cave walls to the vibrating strips of string theory, all is connected.
We are tightrope walkers moving through time, balancing what we know and what we don’t.
Finding faces of our ancestors and those yet to come in the colorful patterns of fields, on the ground, and in the sky – the simple wash of rain on black roads or the call of morning birds.
All the while, angels and spirits are there to point the way to understanding what it all means.
The quest for meaning can be answered in this simple way – we are all made from the same things and we are all one.”
–Christopher Engel, Artist’s Statement