––Charlie Chaplin
2017, brush-plated bronze, cast clear acrylic, granite, fiber optic lighting with steel infrastructure and triple friction pendulum base isolators, 39'-5" x 16'-5" x 14'-9", Collection of Sufism Reoriented, Walnut Creek, CA. Not for sale.
Music: "Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite" © 2011 Robin Bullock
The New Being is a monumental, 11-ton figurative sculpture installed inside a beautiful new sanctuary in Walnut Creek, California. This building was designed by architect Alan Ritchie of the Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie firm of New York City. The sanctuary is the new home of Sufism Reoriented, an American spiritual order created by Meher Baba of India to help Western seekers who aspire to live the principles of divine love as the central focus of their lives.
In the fall 2007, Dr. Carol Weyland Conner, the murshida, or spiritual leader of the group, liked a smaller sculpture Patrick had done of Saint Francis of Assisi. So when she was planning the interior of the new building, she invited him to create this towering figure as a way to inspire and uplift members and guests as they walk around it on the circular grand staircase ascending to the central Prayer Hall.
For more than nine years, Patrick worked in close collaboration with Murshida Conner. She wanted nothing less than to give physical form to the purpose and story of Creation as revealed by Meher Baba. (The members of Sufism Reoriented celebrate Meher Baba as the World Teacher.) Baba explained that the purpose of all life is the evolution of consciousness reincarnating through different advancing life forms to unite with its divine source. He foretold a “New Humanity” when more elevated human qualities would emerge bringing a new, more benevolent age. Murshida Conner wanted the sculpture to convey these qualities, to be human in appearance, yet divine in internal experience. She asked that the figure be lithe and androgynous, graceful and joyful and, having been freed from the bonds of its lower nature, emit a lightness of being.
What a challenge! As they worked to conceptualize the sculpture, they decided to choose materials that would represent different stages in the evolution of consciousness—from dark to light, from stone to human, from binding to freedom. Beginning at the sculpture’s lowest level, the black granite ring surrounding the base represents the mineral kingdom. The round bronze disc is covered in a brackish patina and sculpted with different forms of evolution, from amoebas and trilobites to a primate. Gold is brush-plated on many different parts of the disc to show the divine being unveiled within the oxidized bronze forms. The bronze garment that is falling away was brush-plated with nickel, gold, and copper to achieve nacreous colors and was sculpted to feel like a burden, heavy and dark.
The figure is rising above this lower world, and the broken rope represents leaving behind the bindings accumulated in biological evolution: lust, anger, greed, hatred, pride, jealousy, and selfishness. As the human form becomes free of the dark colors of desires, it becomes lighter and more golden. Starting at the foot, the exterior surface is finished with coarse texture and then gradually becomes finer as it goes up the body to portray the purification of consciousness. It’s plated with nickel and gold, to create a pale pink-gold color. Pink lenses in the track lighting around the figure help boost this effect. As red is associated with life on the physical plane and gold with life of the higher spiritual planes, they are mixed together here to form a pale golden pink to represent a new blend made from both matter and spirit.
The hollow interior is exposed by the openings cut into the sculpture. The interior surface is polished and brush-plated with platinum. This white metal is amplified by white light brought in by fiber optic lighting hidden in the garment and left leg. There are 16 gold-plated bronze butterflies and another 62 cast with clear acrylic flying around the figure and above it. The butterflies represent transformation and the figure’s expanded capacity for service to Creation.
Besides the invaluable guidance and support of Murshida Conner, over a 100 people with various skills helped Patrick to fabricate and install The New Being sculpture, making sure that it achieved Murshida's vision and harmonized in meaningful ways with the beautiful architecture. Patrick is grateful beyond words for the help of the following skilled collaborators:
Owner and Construction Manager: Sufism Reoriented, Walnut Creek, CA
Bronze Casting and Fabricator: Mussi Artworks Foundry, Berkeley, CA
Clear Acrylic Casting: Colbar Art Inc., Long Island City, NY
Design Architect: Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects, New York, NY
Executive Architect: Soga + Associates, San Francisco, CA
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti, San Francisco, CA
Isolator Supplier: Earthquake Protection Systems, Vallejo, CA
Digital Scanning Company: Direct Dimensions, Owings Mills, MD
3D Enlarger: Digital Atelier, Mercerville, NJ
Brush Plating Consultant: Brush Plating Specialists, Garden Valley, CA
Brush Plating Distributor: W.R. ASSOCIATES, INC., Encinitas, CA
Brush Plating Equipment and Supplies: Liquid Development Company, Cleveland, OH
Lighting Designer: Janet Nolan and Associates Lighting Design, San Francisco, CA
Granite Supplier: Cold Spring Granite, Cold Spring, MN
Stone Installer: Cleveland Marble, Orange, CA
Plus Delaware Valley Box and Lumber Crating, Aeronet, and Precision Crane; Safety Kleen and Contra Costa County Health Services; Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson Associates; and ARG Conservation Services.
See a lovely description of the new Sanctuary by OVERAA construction, describing the innovative nature and collaborative spirit of the overall Sanctuary project after winning an Engineering Record News award, and another article by Steve Ratchye of Thornton Thomasetti, who captured the spirit as well in his article "Enduring Devotion: The Sanctuary for Sufism Reoriented."
Photography
First photo by Jim Kirkpatrick
and the rest by Ali Atri
2013, gold and palladium leaf on bronze, 24” high. Private collection. For sale in a limited edition. Contact us for pricing.
This work demonstrates the hollow style that Patrick has been exploring since 1993. The genesis of this style mostly comes from something Thomas Merton wrote in New Seeds of Contemplation:
"Mary, who was empty of all egotism, free from all sin, was as pure as the glass of a very clean window that has no other function than to admit the light of the sun. If we rejoice in that light, we implicitly praise the cleanness of the window. And of course it might be argued that in such a case we might well forget the window altogether. This is true. And yet the Son of God, in emptying Himself of His majestic power, having become a child, abandoning Himself in complete dependence to the loving care of a human Mother, in a certain sense draws our attention once again to her. The Light has wished to remind us of the window, because He is grateful to her and because He has an infinitely tender and personal love for her. If He asks us to share this love, it is certainly a great grace and privilege, and one of the most important aspects of this privilege is that it enables us to some extent to appreciate the mystery of God’s great love and respect for His creatures."
Patrick wondered how he might be able to sculpt this noble view of a human being as an empty, clean window, hollow yet filled with eternal light.
2007, gilded and painted bronze and cast clear resin, 36" high. For Sale. Contact us for pricing.
This sculpture is part of a series of sculptures of the four seasons that Patrick made for a temporary exhibition called "Heart" at St. Mary’s Basilica, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007. Each sculpture is symbolic of the four ages or yugas reckoned by late Hindu sacred texts. Each age is associated with a metal; from gold, silver, bronze, to iron. There is an increasingly damageable character to these metals; gold being the most resistant to corrosion and iron the most vulnerable. As each age decreases in durability, is also decreases in virtue. Each of Patrick's four sculptures in this suite is a human figure dancing inside a musical instrument, signaling the value of each season of growth, no matter the challenge. Some of the dancers are inspired by the choreography of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, which is Patrick's favorite.
Spring is a melting dancer inside of a drum capturing the forceful and initiatory nature of this season. It is a period of transition from the winter to the heat of summer. It represents the golden age or Sat Yuga, which means the Age of Purity. According to contemporary spiritual authorities, we are passing into this age now after a long period of winter. See the Gapminder website that is recording the remarkably positive transformations in our species. If one takes a long view of human development: since 1800, rates of global poverty have decreased and rates of income per person have increased dramatically; the ratio of girls to boys in school is equalizing the world over; and birth rates are lowering as rates of life expectancy are rising in promising ways in every country. Other scholars note that our ancestors were far more violent than we are now; that violence has been in decline for centuries; and that today, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence. A new age is dawning.
Photography by Stan Barouh
2007, silver gilded bronze and cast resin on a clear acrylic base, 30" high. For sale. Contact us for pricing.
This sculpture is part of a series of sculptures of the four seasons that Patrick made for a temporary exhibition called "Heart" at St. Mary’s Basilica, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007. Each sculpture is symbolic of the four ages or yugas reckoned by late Hindu sacred texts. Each age is associated with a metal; from gold, silver, bronze, to iron. There is an increasingly damageable character to these metals; gold being the most resistant to corrosion and iron the most vulnerable. As each age decreases in durability, is also decreases in virtue. Each of Patrick's four sculptures in this suite is a human figure dancing inside a musical instrument, signaling the value of each season of growth, no matter the challenge. Some of the dancers are inspired by the choreography of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, which is Patrick's favorite.
Summer is a dancer leaping from a flute capturing the exuberant nature of this season. A butterfly pattern in her garment gradually transforms into butterflies. The entire form represents a sundial whose shadow forms the base. It represents the silver age or Tretā Yuga. Though it is the second age it means "the age of triads" since it's believed that three avatars incarnated during this period. Further, the symbol of a cow standing on three legs is associated with this age. As each age passes, and virtue diminishes, a leg is taken away.
Photography by Stan Barouh
2007, silver gilded bronze, carved PVC, fishing line and clear acrylic rod, 4' high. For sale. Contact us for pricing.
This sculpture is part of a series of sculptures of the four seasons that Patrick made for a temporary exhibition called "Heart" at St. Mary’s Basilica, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007. Each sculpture is symbolic of the four ages or yugas reckoned by late Hindu sacred texts. Each age is associated with a metal; from gold, silver, bronze, to iron. There is an increasingly damageable character to these metals; gold being the most resistant to corrosion and iron the most vulnerable. As each age decreases in durability, is also decreases in virtue. Each of Patrick's four sculptures in this suite is a human figure dancing inside a musical instrument, signaling the value of each season of growth, no matter the challenge. Some of the dancers are inspired by the choreography of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, which is Patrick's favorite.
Autumn is a dancer leaping within a harp. This musical instrument has a mellow feeling that resonates with Patrick's experience of the season. It represents the third yuga called the dvāpara, or "the age with the number two," when the cow of dharma or virtue is standing only on two legs.
Photography by Stan Barouh
2007, gold gilded on cast stainless steel, painted steel, clear acrylic rods, and fishing line, 4' high. For sale. Contact us for pricing.
This sculpture is part of a series of sculptures of the four seasons that Patrick made for a temporary exhibition called "Heart" at St. Mary’s Basilica, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007. Each sculpture is symbolic of the four ages or yugas reckoned by late Hindu sacred texts. Each age is associated with a metal; from gold, silver, bronze, to iron. There is an increasingly damageable character to these metals; gold being the most resistant to corrosion and iron the most vulnerable. As each age decreases in durability, is also decreases in virtue. Each of Patrick's four sculptures in this suite is a human figure dancing inside a musical instrument, signaling the value of each season of growth, no matter the challenge. Some of the dancers are inspired by the choreography of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, which is Patrick's favorite.
Winter is a surrendered dancer inside of wind chimes capturing the frozen nature of this season. Patrick experienced many winters in the Rockies of Colorado where he grew up and in South Bend, Indiana where he went to school. Patrick loved the icicles and the silence of snow covered terrain. In the cycle of yugas, winter is an important period of laying fallow, gathering energy for another spring, which is anticipated in the gold within the figure. It represents the iron age or Kali Yuga, which means the Age of Strife, when the cow of dharma or virtue is standing on only one leg. This is the difficult age when opposition is at its height, but because it is only through opposition that growth can happen, it is an opportunity for great internal progress. If used well, it can awaken a deep desire for purity that awaits in the spring. The dancer's aspiration for this golden age of purity is represented in a rose blossoming on her chest; a rose in winter is the most eternal.
Photography by Stan Barouh
2009, gold gilded bronze figure and colored fused glass on gilded MDF, 4' wide. For Sale. Contact us for pricing.
Death is best understood as a stage in a larger pattern of growth. The phoenix rising from the ashes and the dance of a new life after that dissolution is a wonderful symbol of this truth.
(photos, Stan Barouh)
2005, gold and silver leaf on bronze, and clear acrylic base.
3' tall. Private collection. Not for sale.
The influence of Francis and Clare of Assisi on Patrick has been profound since his first pilgrimage to Assisi in 1990. In this sculpture, he used a few episodes from the life of Francis as inspiration. Each of these episodes contain the element of surrendering his body to Creation and to the Divine, leading to transformation.
At the beginning of Francis's spiritual unfoldment, he striped naked in front of the town of Assisi, returning his belongings to his father so that he might be fully prepared to belong to his Father in heaven. At the culmination of his spiritual illumination, he went to a retreat on a mountainside and exposed himself to the sufferings of the Christ, which left wounds in his flesh. At the end of his life, he asked his caretakers to take off his clothes that he might feel Mother Earth as he give his physical form back to her. In this consummate surrender, he joins the flight of spiritual doves.
This sculpture became the inspiration for Patrick's masterpiece, The New Being.
Photography, Jim Morris
2003, cast clear acrylic and a pearl, 3' high,. Private Collection. Not for sale.
This buddhist Goddess of Mercy is a divine Mother figure who is depicted in many ways in Buddhist art of East Asia. In this rendering, she holds a pearl, the representation of rounded knowledge, pure wisdom. Her other hand pours the waters of purity into creation. She stands upon a blossoming lotus, the image of illumination that is the destiny of all beings. Her hair rises high into spiritual planes of consciousness, and contains an icon of the World Teacher.
2000, tiger skin, resin, gold leaf, wood mosaic, terracotta,
mahogany, oil lamps, 3' high. Private collection. Not for sale.
Photography, Steve Oversby
2001, gold gilded bronze, 3' high. Private collection. Not for sale.
This sculpture was a collaboration with a client who wanted to capture the joy of life using the hollow style of Patrick's work.
(Photo, John Woo)
2001, mosaic, gold and silver leaf, terracotta panels
with my footprints, 25' x 8'. Collection of the University of Maryland Newman Catholic Center. Not for sale.
This work joins the story of Moses at the Burning Bush with the one about the Risen Christ. The flames of the bush contain silver and gold text in Hebrew: Ehyeh asher ehyeh, "I am who I am/I will be who I will be." Foot prints adorn the perimeter of the bush referencing Moses's bare feet as he took off his sandals during this sacred event. The Christ rises from these flames in a more explicit manifestation his of name. A large dove form spreads its wings from within the Christ figure, creating an angelic appearance.
Photography, John Woo
2004, cast 18K gold on clear acrylic wave base, 18" high. Not for sale.
James MacKie was a teacher for many. Whether it was with underserved children in some of America's most difficult slums, or with successful members of society, "Jim"––psychologist, spiritual teacher, and friend to all––helped everyone he met with their own personal search for the deeper meaning of their lives: he gave his love and wisdom in surprising ways that always amplified their growth. He loved growth, and he loved supporting the difficult processes that lead unswervingly towards its happy fulfillment in real maturity. This sculpture expresses him as an uncommon wave of God's Ocean, bursting upon the shores of many lives with a joyous smile.
Photography by John Woo.
Bronze, platinum gilding, and clear acrylic base. About 18” high x 10” dia. base.
In 1999 I made this sculpture of what theologian Elizabeth Johnson called “She Who Is”, the feminine face of the Christ, also known as Hagia Sophia or “Holy Wisdom” in the Christian (Orthodox) context or “Shekhinah” or “Dwelling” in the Hebrew context.
Photos by Greg Stanley
