The Singing Moai

Oh how I debated before doing this, because it is yet another where I must stray from my usual format.

If you had not mentioned Pascal Campion, I would have simply fave’d this, and moved on, but alas an artist’s input in the description area is weighed very heavily, sometimes good, sometimes bad. How it will weigh here will have to be seen as we discuss this.

The vision here is a flag flying 4 ½, primarily because of the description (here it paid off) Getting the “lay of the land” with the Moai after digesting the image on initial impact, gives a refreshing second breath for the second look! I smiled as I saw the description in the faces of the Moai, by cracky the artist was right, there was Frankie, and Perry by his side, and look how happy they are! These fellows are just plain having a good ol’ time, bully for them!

As for Originality, many would quickly say “Oh Eastern Island, as if images on that topic were brand new…” And actually they would be correct, Easter Island documentaries, it being brought up in other documentaries, articles, magazines, etc… Make this as the topic “Easter Island” old news indeed. But that is not what I see here… I see life in the Moai , I see emotion, I see movement, vibrancy, interaction with the image, as well as the opportunity to interact with the smiling viewer. This is not the stone cold lifeless statues that have been talked about over and over again in many venues, but A “Free” Moai, a Moai that has been released from the chains of cold stone, a Moai that has been given the “breath of life” from what could be looked at as a divinely inspired need for bringing the past back to life… Lest it be forgot, and we find ourselves doomed to the repetition of cold stone maybe?? Another 4 ½ comes crashing through, and into the light!

Now the description comes full circle, and the other side of the sword begins to cut.

The technique is fine, there is no real need to discuss what the artist is doing, and the artist knows quite well what needs to be done. But Pascal? Maybe, but we are in a decline that puts us at 4 stars here.

Pascal in essence maybe, but emulation? Not as much as I would have liked in what I can see. The ambiguity of the birds hurts the expectations set earlier by the description. Pascal is rough, yes indeed he is, but vague is not a word I would use with him. Sharp, rough but clean, precise, well thought out, easily interpreted, easily engaging. Rough is one thing, but “lacking/less than” is yet another, ergo I am not seeing that with the birds? I am seeing more of a WIP with the birds… It looks as if the artist stopped for some reason, maybe a fear of losing the “rough”? Maybe a thought that enough had been done already, and going farther was damaging? I need more of the “eyes” on the birds; they are sucking the life out of the Moai with their semi-soulless appearance. They give me more of a feeling that they are the harbingers of impending trouble. There is no real joy in them, only the vague possibility that they might be cracking a smile”, or maybe being soothed by the music? Instead I see hints of the birds coming to warn the Moai that they are in violation of their expressed purpose, a kind of “You guys, here he comes, you can’t let him hear you” being expressed by the birds. The role of the birds here is huge, they validate the Moai’s expression of joy, they need to take a stand and engage the Moai in a clearer and precise manner, they can still be rough and tell a clean and precise story.

The blade returns with the hand of the description squeezing tight, leaving 3 ½ stars behind as a wound for impact.

Am I a Pascal expert? No, and methinks only Pascal himself could hold that title, but what I am missing is the use of lighter colors, yellow, red, orange, white. Historically when I see dark colors with Pascal, I see night, I see the absence of light and in those instances where the dark colors are used, he tends to add a light source somewhere to give the darkness it due. A lamp, city lights, a window. When you look at his non-urban images you see quite a bit of yellow, red, orange, white. Something drastically missing here. Yes it is Easter Island, yes there is grass, buy how about some yellow sun? More yellow bird beak? Some dries patches of grass bearing some of the more fiery brightness? Be more powerful with the clouds, get brighter with the white maybe?

I get the feeling that the artist started off strong, but the passion began to lose some of its heat as the life was breathed in, it started with deep breathing, then settled into normal respirations as soon as the image was officially “born”, and grew to its maturity. It is an excellent work, and it is suggestive of Pascal, but some of the internal feelings of Pascal are lacking to be seen as possibly “emulating” Pascal is a fiery person; he likes to get his point across with basic effort, and then lets the viewer breathe more life into his work. That is being done here, but I get the feeling of reservation, a holding back, a feeling that the artist might be looking for something that might be right in front of him.

It is an awesome image, it made me smile, the hand of the artist stroked my cheek and invited me to sing along with the Moai, I would just have liked to have had more enticement, the potential was there, just untapped.