Helen Kagan, Garsot collaborate to create ArtSynergism
GARSOT • KAGAN
Forever Inspired By The Muses By Victor Forbes “An artist creates out of nothing but himself,” wrote America’s great story teller Mario Puzo in his 1978 follow-up to The Godfather novel, Fools Die. The Spirit of Creativity reaches to the highest mountain top, to the lowest valley and every place in-between and we note this with a sense of awe as we visit these works of joy and power by two artists who, in tandem, dispel Puzo’s not entirely inaccurate theory. They create together (building from nothing to everything) joyfully knowing that every moment is a gift and the results of their process is a party, a celebration of life. This is what the work by these two artists — Sotirios Garsot & Helen Kagan — does. It gives viewers inspiration to continue on journeys in music, art, poetry, science so that these paintings of Muses become muses in themselves. In the midst of all the action, energy and excitement there is also a calm amidst the storm. Energy, seemingly running rampant, becomes an orderly co-
herent statement of beauty and power in the tempest. What makes you really happy? they seem to be asking and in these paintings, we may find answers. Could it be a swirling whorl of nebulae? A beautiful woman or two? or a swatch of nature’s beauty in the form of simple fall foliage, as in leaves falling off a tree. Martin and Lewis. Lennon and McCartney. Mantle and Maris. Rodgers and Hammerstein. Dolce and Cabana. Komar and Melamid. These are but a few of the famous duos who have impacted the culture of recent generations. Now we have Garsot and Kagan developing ArtSynergism. They have spent the better part of the past couple of years working together on a series of paintings that bring to life the beautiful daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, a collection of nine goddesses who preside over the arts and sciences — in a vibrant group of paintings. Muses and Music consists of 10 large square works (48” x 48”), one for each
Muse with the 10th depicting the Mother of all Muses (Mnemosyne). A spectacular, double-sided screen called Muses Forever completes the series. This 8' x 10' masterpiece is certainly a show-stopper and the epitome of the work of two highly creative individuals pooling their unique talents and vision to create something that is geared to inspire the viewer on multiple levels. Thee works certainly pay respect to the creative process and the wonderful sources of inspiration known to all as Muses. Inspired by an indefatigable spiritual longing to paint a powerful tribute to the guides who inspire the mysterious process in writers, artists, musicians, et al, Garsot & Kagan have forsaken the ego of individualism and poured their talents and visions into a singular cauldron of creativity for which they have devised a new “ism” to add to the lexicon of art world vocabulary: ArtSynergism. SunStorm/Fine Art • Spring 2018 • Page 21
