(227) PATHS OF BERKELEY:

Edition of 1513 of which 125 copies are signed 1-125, 26 copies are signed A-Z as artist's proofs.

August 5, 2011

16-3/4" x 24"
Eleven Colors
Paper: Starwhite Vicksburg Sirius 110# Cover

Models: Enzo Lukas Choi & Gavin Bernhard Johansson

Client: Berkeley Path Wanderers Association

1-125: Saint Hieronymus Press
A-Z: Artist's own use
Dedication copies: Enzo Choi & Gavin Johansson, Erin & Chris Johansson, Kim Leo, Tom Choi, Vera Leo, Sun Ja and Daniel Choi, Michael & Connie Kain, Letty Zane

Walking made us human. Near as anyone can tell, tools, fire and language followed quite a bit later, each contributing toward making us what we are today.

A milestone in the life of new parents is their baby's first halting, staggering steps, more of a controlled fall than a walk. Fortunately, babies have a lot of padding to land on, and are built low to the ground. At pretty much the same time, baby's first word pops out, usually a charming "Mama" or "Dada," but just as often a disconcertingly adult expletive. My first word was "damn," and you may be sure that my father and grandfather were told in no uncertain terms to clean up their talk.

With these rough-hewn tools in hand, the miniature Featherless Biped goes on to recapitulate the path laid down over millions of years by his ancestors. Walking, speech, fire and a Boy Scout knife, or its Stone Age equivalent, opened between us and the Beasts of the Field a chasm as wide and as deep as the ocean. A chasm so wide indeed that we have ourselves become as gods, creating a new generation based not in the carbon image of man, but just as with our first tools, out of stone. Perhaps our creations will enable us to leave our frail and short-lived bodies behind as we together go out for a walk along the stars-speckled paths of the constellations.

14 Aug 2011