The original photo was taken midday a day or two before the harvest of the cornfields. Hungover, My companion and I were having a walk around the experimental farm in Ottawa, Ontario. This farm, as far as I know, is used to research and develop improvements for agriculture in Canada and presumably across the world.
We walked along the edge of the cornfield, trying to get a deep look into what may be on the inside. We made jokes about crop circles or of things lurking just out of our sight or walking in and getting lost inside. We went about our day and enjoyed the nice weather before it got cold.
When I got around to reviewing the photos, My companion and I were having a sweet night together. Me messing around on Photoshop and her playing her cat soup game on her Nintendo Switch. We listened to music and I danced around like a fool. I found the original image looking through my files. It was straight up just a picture of corn. I have been taking a few classes at SPAO (School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa), and have been learning more about art in general. I had raved to my companion about my favorite artists, some of whom are Maxfield Parrish the famous painter who I had discovered once going to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, USA. I am also a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, famous director of the majority of Studio Ghibli’s Animated movies such as, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro. I kept those two artists especially in mind when making this piece.
I noted Maxfield Parrish’s spectacular attention to light and color. I was looking at his piece, “A Venetian Night's Entertainment.” The glow… The glow on that. Absolutely Fantastic. I then took inspiration from my previous conversation with my companion, thinking about what we might find lurking inside the if we had followed the corn deep into the field. In the Ghibli movie Princess Mononoke there were little creatures that appeared in the forests. Very small probably only a few inches tall. I’d connected that conversation to that and decided if there were anything living inside the field, they would need a path to get to wherever they needed to go. And of course they would need something to light their path. Like street lamps in a park at nighttime. I already wanted to do work like Maxfield Parrish, so... Why don’t I try that? I grabbed some snacks, kissed my companion and worked away. I imagined being alongside tiny creatures with the glowing corn lamps looming above me There was a certain set of songs that I listened to during this session. Over the summer I had discovered a whole slew of music that I loved. for this set of songs I wanted to remember those warm summer nights out on the town and the carefree feeling they gave me.
A few for you, Paraiso by Haruomi Hosono, Seaside Weekend by Antena, 扉の冬 by Minako Yoshida, Ono mambo haiku by Domenique Dumont and 5 a.m. by The Millennium
So I danced and flirted this artwork out with my companion by my side, for the rest of the night. Smiles and thoughts of walking through this corn lit path.
Later on..
I showed this artwork to a few other artists to see what others thought about it. Bev Thibault, Emma Rath and Ellen Treciokas. I am very new to the art world. I don’t really understand how everything works in galleries among other things. One note that stood out to me the most was “Art has to have a meaning.” I have always held a restrained stance to that. I believe that the making of the art was the meaningful part. I have always paid attention more to what is happening in an artist’s life then what it means to someone else. A very closed off stance I do realize but art is personal.
But I did consider their notes. Got me up thinkin’ about corn.
My companion has Celiac Disease. An autoimmune disorder affecting the small intestine when eating gluten. It prevents the absorption of nutrients from certain foods. For her It causes cramps, bloating, and affects mood. For others it may have different reactions. If gone untreated it can affect bone density, making your bones weaker due to lack of nutrients. Some of this I learned from her, other things were from google I will be honest.
Gluten free diets are becoming more common, when my companion and I make dinner many of the food products used are corn based because they do not have gluten. It’s difficult. Especially in our western culture, the majority of our foods are Gluten based, Pasta, Wheat based snacks, a lot of processed foods and BREAD! bread is the base sustinence for most of human culture if i’m correct in that assessment.
So my companion and I talked about celiac disease a bit and I remembered when I originally pointed us towards the corn field I thought it was a wheat field. She was not too excited to be walking towards her arch enemy. I was not even thinking about it, sorry my dear..
As we got closer to it I realized two things. 1, I don’t have the slightest clue what a corn crop looks like and would be completely useless in any sort of agricultural emergency. And 2, corn is very important to people who have celiac disease, It’s something I had never considered. and that is important to know. Before I knew this sort of poked fun at gluten allergies, not knowing that they were an actual real problem and not some form of “Fat Phobia” which is a whole other topic that i’d rather not get into. I was wrong to assume it was that. Because I have seen what Celiac Disease can do. An exposure to gluten can have very bad after effect.
So to relate back to the artwork, following the glowing corn into an experimental farm could lead people with celiac and other gluten intolerances to an easier future for them if agricultural scientists use their resources and research into that. Maybe through genetic engineering or a change in pesticides or preservation or even finding a cure to celiac disease. Who knows? Guess we have to follow the path.
Below are me and my companion in the field
