"In "Ascension", enormous leaves from a plant grow up the side of a rusting metal fence. The fence has holes in it that show you a garbage filled lot...Despite the adverse environment it lives in, the plant survives and thrives. Being a living creature myself, I began to identify with and see similarities between all living things. We all breath, grow, struggle, communicate, have reproductive capabilities, affect an area greater than ourselves, and die. I moved to New York City twenty years ago. I find the living elements in the landscape exciting, comforting, changeable and mysterious. Even though the man-made world physically takes over the natural one in New York City, I want to show how experiencing and being in contact with nature has a profound affect on our lives, our well-being, our understanding of the world and our history."Kathy Levine/September 2001 |