FOOT TRAFFIC by Artist R.L. Gibson ©2018

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“Foot Traffic”  (scroll down for a sample of images), a series of delicate xerography transfers on pigment-stained wood by R.L. Gibson, employs the use of maps, and the metaphor of dance, to juxtapose the idea of freedom, choice, and self-determination against the literal, physical boundaries of civil engineering.  “Foot Traffic” further explores what happens where the map ends.

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work . . . . [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others” –Martha Graham

Does dance offer merely the suggestion of freedom while quietly structuring our movement? I ask again, are we stuck in traffic?

Click any image for a larger view.