graceann  cummings

What is the definition of Innocence? 

Ever since the concept of sin was introduced into consciousness, the belief that innocence can be ruined has persisted. The belief in good and evil has been practiced over the eons and mostly humanity is blamed for sin, whereas the abstract of God has been assumed to be perfect and pure. This divisional imbalance is something I find troubling because it procreates the belief in an enemy and a belief that Innocence is a victim. -  In my installation “Care for Another Bite?” I question these assumptions by portraying Innocence as a natural, spiritual resource of Being and ‘God’ as self-conscious-awareness-of-Being grappling with its emotional & psychological understanding(s) of Being; thus, creating a circular perspective that Innocence is an ongoing relationship with itself rather than a destiny of purity. As you peruse my images: The chains symbolize the inescapable connection to ‘self’ that travels between questions that can arise in consciousness and questions caused by circumstances outside of consciousness. The chains fall, drape, and mold into the shape of a tree and branches that hold paintings of bitten apples. Each apple painting reveals a question in their bite. The bite represents both disrupting consciousness and nourishment of consciousness. All the apples contain a question rather than a statement which leads to “more options” rather than a fixed belief. I used the tree and apples to draw parallels to the biblical tale of the garden of Eden because of the condemning presence of shame in that story. Shame without explanation is part of the imbalance that troubles me with respect to innocence because it’s so random & reactionary. It seems that the belief in shame was a jaundiced assumption that Innocence was ruined rather than any actual evidence of damage occurring. Yet the acceptance of shame was believed by both human and divine consciousness in that story; a shared belief, a shared consciousness that was projected onto humanity and not God. In my installation I don’t rebel against the shame but instead refute the belief in separation from God by presenting the belief in shame as inescapability rather than as an apology. All the questions in the apple bite paintings suggest that consciousness whether Human or Divine has the agility of curiosity to quest for a different option than shame. Consciousness is presented as a reflection to & of itself relevant to not being able to escape its own power to know, observe and experience, which every viewer of my art will inescapably recreate when they view my installation. They will be the witness to what they see and experience. They can disagree with my art, but they can’t deny its presence in their consciousness. This “inescapability” is my acknowledgement of hope because even in disagreement I am not alone because I am connected to the disagreement. “I Am” is the vernacular for every individual into eternity because everyone can agree or disagree with anything yet still be connected to consciousness. There is no escape from consciousness by those living. The tree is my visual symbol of this cyclical inescapability and the paradox of Hope vs. Trust. Trees grow from the Earth toward the sky as their roots spread into the ground. Their seeds of procreating fall back to the Earth and begin the cycle anew like the mortal rhythm of procreation for all beings. Each generation springs forth from the previous and is rooted to the earth but reaches for the heavens; like consciousness that starts from itself but hopes for something more. My use of chains is to represent emotional and psychological ancestry and the inescapable behavior of knowing consciousness by using consciousness. The structure of the chains is partially intended and partially “draped” to function as motion that travels in opposite directions of time: consequence(s) vs. potential(s). The branches swirl and hold the apples which ask questions that demand a conscious mind to be aware of its power to question itself, know itself and create beliefs about itself, and to recognize that disagreement is omnipresent by the paradox of being curious about Being. Being can question its existence, but it cannot be assaulted, persuaded or coerced into a final ruination, nor locked into a final answer because it can always disagree with itself which begs the question: If God-consciousness believes in sin, does sin actually exist or is it an invention that deceives the mind into a belief in a counter identity? Is Humanity actually sinful or is Humanity deceived by the belief in sin? Is Humanity accountable to God for the belief in sin or is God accountable to Humanity for the belief in sin? Can Humanity trust Forgiveness because of God or despite God? Can Humanity forgive God instead of asking God for Forgiveness? For me, I trust Forgiveness because I Forgive God. That gives me the freedom and the power to say: “If God doesn’t want to forgive me, then God doesn’t have to, but I am not the enemy.”

Title: Care for Another Bite?
Medium: 33 paintings w/ each @ 8"x 8" & plastic chain
Dimensions: 12' H x 17' Width
(variable because tree size/shape can be adapted to wall space)
Year: 2021
Price: $15,000