Elegy for an Angel's Wing
Alan McKee
Digital Artist
Digital Painter
NFTs
Projections
Light Paintings
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All images and videos on this site are the sole property of Alan McKee and may not be copied in any form without written permission. ©Copyright 2022
NFTs and Motion Art
With the advent of the NFT market, and the fact that so many NFTs utilize motion, Motion Art has moved to the forefront of the art world. There are many ways that Motion Art is being presented, everything ranging from small, compact acrylic devices to enormous museum screens. The Motion Art that I am offering is often realized in the form of compact acrylic devices for the home, office and non-institutional spaces, or simply digital files playable on any computer. If you are interested in showing in much larger than normal formats, please contact me. Find my NFTs on Opensea under AlanMcKee Collection. All minted on the Etherium block chain.
The Birth of Venus
Shaman's Tree of Light
Shamanism is humankinds' oldest spiritual practice. It is remarkably consistent across all cultures and locations. It always involves a "world tree" that holds together everything in the universe. For those familiar with the Norse sagas, reference Yggdrasil and the Well of Norns beneath its roots. The image above is my idea of what the Tree looks like in its true form: a 'tree' of light and energy, and what its interaction with us might look like. Be sure to turn on sound for shamanic drumming since the drum is the key psychic tool of the Shaman for inducing journeys to other realms that exist on the three levels of the Tree (again, you can refer to Norse sagas for the three worlds). Modern science has proved the effectiveness of drumming as a form of meditative induction with brain scans that show drumming creates Theta brainwaves, the most relaxed and creative state before sleep. Good journeying to you!
Shaman's Window
Sit by this window with the Shaman, entranced by his drumming, knowing that all around miracles are occuring in an infinite number of realms. If you get tired of just looking, get up and go with him as he goes out to meet his spirit-animal allies. Join them in roving the infinite worlds at his beck and call—all the while listening to the eternal drumming, the heartbeat, of the Cosmos.
Spring and Fall
This is a meditative piece that was inspired by a poem by the great 19th century Oxford poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins. I have "borrowed" my title from that poem as well. Below is the full text of the poem. I enjoy this piece most when I turn up the sound of rain hitting the leaves.
Spring and Fall
to a young child
Márgarét, áre you gríeving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leáves like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! ás the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
Homage to Cousteau
This is my small homage to a very great man who did more to save the future of our planet than almost anyone else. Jacques Yves Cousteau was the first to sound the alarm about the state of our oceans and what that was going to mean for the rest of Earth's environment. His films are as great and important today as they were twenty years ago. If you haven't seen them, you are missing important information about our world. Be sure to watch this NFT in full screen mode or you will miss out!
Pilgrim Planets
This work was inspired by an author who was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis. Like Tolkein, Lewis was a great Oxford scholar. His work was focused on the medieval period. Like Tolkien, he was a great writer of science fiction fantasy. His space trilogy published in the nineteen-thirties has been a classic for nearly a century. My Motion Art work was inspired by the first novel of that trilogy entitled, Out of the Silent Planet. The premise of the book was that the planets of our solar system were actually gods with special gifts and characteristics. Only Earth was a silent planet because it had been taken over a destructive force. The trilogy is the history of how humanity has been affected by this darkness and how, eventually, the darkness is defeated.
I wanted to create a colourful, positive image, however, so I imagined what the solar system would be like if some of the planets left their fixed orbits and became pilgrims in the universe, in search of ways to improve the lives of all sentient beings. The music is original but owes much of it's character to baroque trumpet concertos by Vivaldi and others.
Radiance
Beyond the Looking Glass
The Collision of Iapetus
The name Iapetus comes from the Greek god (or Titan) Iapetus, who is a son of Uranus and Gaia, a brother to Kronus and the father of Atlas and Prometheus. As the father of Prometheus, the ancient Greeks regarded Iapetus as the father of the human race. Astronomically, Iapetus is the third-largest natural satellite of Saturn and the eleventh-largest in the Solar System. Discoveries by the Cassini mission in 2007 revealed several unusual features, such as a massive equatorial ridge running three-quarters of the way around the moon and a distinctive colour pattern. Astronomers believe that the equatorial ridge was formed when Iapetus passed too close to one of Saturn's rings and collided with it.
There was something about this moon and its unique story that drew me into creating a work of Motion Art that captured the mystery and irregularities of Iapetus. Of course, it would also have to be a work that was interesting and enjoyable to look at. At first glance, the work has a definite Art Deco style, but when you watch it in motion, I think you'll see how the astronomical back story morphed into a work of Motion Art. It is most effective when watched in FULL SCREEN MODE which can be accessed by rolling over the image above.
The Tatagathagharba or Womb of Suchness
According to certain Buddhist groups, the Womb of Suchness is the creative source of all things in the universe. Kind of ambitious for an image but I enjoyed making it. I hope you enjoy watching it in motion and still.
21st Century Firebird
This Motion Art work was inspired by the Firebird myth which appears repeatedly in Slavic folk/fairy tales. I thought it would be interesting to update the mythic image to the 21st Century. That is also the reason for the original music I wrote that attempts to recall some of the composers of the region like Smetana, a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. This is not to say that my little musical snippet is in the same category as the music of this world class composer.