Carolyn Riman’s Advent is a walk-in Advent calendar that “reveals” a new mixed-media image-event each day, in different locations all over town. Based upon the Advent calendar, a daily calendar of the weeks before Christmas in which a numbered door for each day conceals, an image, verse, chocolate or toy (driving children of all ages mad with suspense!), Advent is timed in anticipation of the winter solstice. The show is a series of meditations on what we wait for, and in turn what is revealed to us from day to day. Many gifts often go unnoticed, forgotten, or ignored. Riman will be present in the gallery for the full run of the exhibition.
The artist writes:
"What is “the reason for the season”? Depends who you ask. Try Nordic lore, try Inuit, try astrophysics. Humans have been digging into this particular question for a long time. The Advent, varying in length according to a variety of traditions, is known in many Christian traditions as the four Sundays prior to Christmas. By any name or calendar, Advent is layered with historical and cultural significance, observed variously as a remembrance of Jews waiting for the Messiah, modern-day Christians awaiting the Second Coming, and in the spirit of countless pre-Christian traditions that continue to brighten the long dark nights with ritual and festivities to mark the return of the lengthening light to the Northern Hemisphere.
What kinds of things do people wait for? Payday, the Golden Ticket, Mr. Right, the Messiah, the rapture, ascension, a free moment, “the right moment,” “a lucky break,” any break at all, vacation, inspiration, being “discovered”, a windfall, enlightenment, a write-up in the Times, a gold medal, a purple heart, a visa, a letter of acceptance, a promotion, bloodwork results, epiphany, apocalypse, security, recognition, validation, confirmation, stability, a good night’s sleep, death, birth, rebirth, freedom, instructions, good directions, true love.
Collectively and individually, if we can hold a vision for any of these prospects in our inmost psyches, do we not have access to the essential spark to ignite any one of them? My intention with Advent is to shine a little light on the seed-symbols we carry, to open doors to the things we wait for, and nurture them in the quiet and dark time of year. Advent seeks to temper the amplified message of insufficiency that often hijacks the “holiday” spirit. Advent is an invitation to inventory dreams, to mine the passage through the dark season for the abundant potentials inherent in each of us."
About Axle Contemporary
Axle Contemporary was founded in 2010 by artists Matthew Chase-Daniel and Jerry Wellman, as a collaborative work of art, and an innovative vehicle for arts distribution. It has since grown beyond the confines of the mobile exhibition space, and also includes forays into book publishing,, and alternative venues for expanded and creative art exhibition. Learn more about the mobile gallery here.
