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Pandora's Box
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| Pandora, the first woman, was created from clay by the God Hephaestus, on instructions from Zeus. Each of the Gods and Goddesses were asked to give Pandora some graceful attribute, and, as a result, she emerged as a most beautiful woman. As a final offering, Zeus gave her a box, but he told her that she must never open it and never look inside it. She was NOT told that the gods had each put something harmful in it. Pandora's Box contained all the evils, crimes and illnesses now so familiar to humankind. Pandora bravely tried to overcome her curiosity (an attribute given her by Hera, the wife of Zeus) but she finally succumbed to temptation and peeked into the container. The evils were then released into the world and we suffer them to this day. I enjoy taking old myths and placing them in contemporary settings. With all the nasties floating in cyberspace, computers may well be regarded as the true descendants of Pandora's box. The image did not originate from a physical painting. Instead, it arose as a work generated purely on a computer, using a Wacom Tablet to provide the finer details. It amuses me to think that the 'original' in this case is just a series of binary numbers, stored electronically on a hard drive. It is only when an actual print is made that an 'original' may first appear. Since each of the elements in the composition is on a separate layer in the computer program, it is easy to make changes to the colours and shapes, so that each time a print is made, it can be a unique product. I trust that no one will be offended by the 'rotten apple' logo on the laptop. This image was produced on a Mac G5 and I have been a Macaddict for a long time. I just couldn't resist making a reference to the Adam and Eve story, with its apple of knowledge. |
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