 |
| CALLAHAN POPE MCDONOUGH (photo by Hallelujah Truth, aka Ruth Schowalter) |
In the
second week of May 2013, following Callahan Pope McDonough’s art opening of “A Sword of
Moonlight and Imperishable Love” at Sight and Sound Gallery in the StudioPlex, I ventured to the Old Fourth Ward, to Callahan’s loft space where
she works and lives.
Hallelujah
for the light and spaciousness of her studio living space, for it elevated me
to an altered state of consciousness. Afternoon sunlight illuminated her large
colorful paintings, which spoke loudly and deeply to me. Callahan’s organic
gluten free chocolate chip cookies and herbal tea kept me grounded as we
engaged in the following interview.
 |
| LIGHT FILLED SPACIOUSNESS. Callahan's studio space in the Old Fourth Ward dazzles with its high ceilings and sunfilled walls, countertops, and floor! Her current work is now on exhibit at the Sight and Sound Gallery in the Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. "A Sword of Moonlight and Imperishable Love" can be viewed until June 28, 2013. Original pieces of her work are available for purchase, as well as giclees at affordable prices. (photo by Hallelujah Truth) |
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Give me your personal definition of ART.
CALLAHAN: Well, that’s like saying what’s my definition of God?
CALLAHAN: Well, that’s like saying what’s my definition of God?
There are
different ways to go about defining art. There is a lot out there today that’s
called art, and it’s not art. In some ways it easier to say what its not,
overall, it’s complex, subjective and mind boggling.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: In this moment, how would you go
about defining art? It’s okay if your definition is primitive.
CALLAHAN: When I was in art school— the big “A” art was
a constant source of debate. In my view, this big “A” art has to have some kind
of relationship to art as it relates to art history. A sense of context, even
if one is defying art history, you have to have it in your bones what you are
making in relationship to the art, the history that’s preceded. Some exceptions
to this would be naïve artists, like Howard Finster.
I guess, my definition of art is that it has relevance and impact beyond the meaning it has for me, the maker of art.
I guess, my definition of art is that it has relevance and impact beyond the meaning it has for me, the maker of art.
 |
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Explain relevance.
CALLAHAN: I don’t know how to explain
relevance exactly but that everything is related and has impact. Relevance is another
word for relationship.
But
nobody can ultimately codify this relevance because it is a paradox. Most
people who are artists are renegades. The nature of this paradox is that there
are two realities, that seem to contradict but within the nature of paradox,
both are true at the same time. My sense of it is: relationship + connection of
all life forms.
CALLAHAN: Spirituality is something I have a
sense about, what I consider a deep knowing based on my experience of it. It
really defies description, but words are what we have and need to describe
life, but of course words and our minds are limited. So that is my instinct/knowing; i.e., my sense is that there is something that is me and simultaneously greater
than me which I am and we all are part of. I personally choose to call this
God. And so this question is a little bit like your question, “What is art.” 
I can tell
you what “spirituality” is not.
It is not
some big guy somewhere in the clouds like a puppeteer, proclaiming: 'Here I give
you goodies today and I withhold goodies from these other folks.' That is a no
brainer. Those paradigms of a deity that no longer serve, they limit us and
create confusion.
In my
view "Religious" institutions have given God a bad name. Religions have been
coopted for patriarchal agendas, money and control. There are some religions
that are transcending this pattern, but if there is a dogma within a teaching
that dictates how we live beyond, love each other and do not harm yourself or
another, it's been coopted for other agendas.
There is
no specific version of God. We make symbols to convey our pretty limited
perceptions of God and that is where art can be profound, elegant, and diverse.
Art ultimately leaves the experience in
the hands of the viewer.
For me, I can call spirituality God, or you can call it Mother Nature or M & M’s. “It” doesn’t need you to name it. I do have a sense that there is something profound about Life itself.
In the book, Not God, which was Ernest Kurtz’s PhD thesis about the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, Kurtz describes that his research showed that Alcoholics who came into recovery and had lasting sobriety/recovery where able to make the shift from “I am God” (be there a God OR NOT, whichever is so) to: “I am not God”.
What that
translates to is that none of us can "carry the worry" or "solve all the
problems" or control anything completely. Frequently in childhood we imagine
that’s our job and then that causes a sense of being alone, cut off from humanity, anything spiritual, our authentic selves.
In my
generation, there was so much emphasis on finding identity. There was a kind of
narcissism in the searching for me, me, me….
There
needs to be a shift to include me+you+WE.
 |
| Know Now We Have Always Been in Danger Down in Our Separateness (1983) |
But, we are not God. There is some Life Force. We can call it Love, or we can call Quantum Physics--whatever it is, life is more awesome than us or even or our ideas of things.
For
myself, I come back to what is least complicated and has a kind of common sense
to it. Love does make a difference. Of course it can sound trite, but acts of
kindness DO make a difference. And of course both kindness and love when it is
the most difficult to extend are the most important. It requires consciousness,
moment to moment work.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: What is the connection between
the ART you make and your spirituality?
CALLAHAN: I think that they are connected.
My work is primarily intuitive and instinctive. There are times that I have
something very concise that I want to express in a painting. I will think that
I have something in my head, and it comes out the way it comes out. So I know
of course I made that, but I stand back and think "Really, where did that come
from?". I have a sense of a source other than myself + me concurrent.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Can you explain a little more?
CALLAHAN: Yes. Take for example, my concern
about our planet. We are in serious trouble. The lack of connection to nature,
to each other, is a cause for our getting
to this current state of affairs.
The two
spiritual ideologies I like the most are A Course of Miracles
and the Kabbalah, along with a dash of Buddhism.
These paradigms see our task in life to be to have compassion for others and
our selves and as the course in Miracles states "to remove the barriers to
Love".
The word
“sin” is an archery term, which means “off the mark.” We messed up and are “off the mark.” We need to
practice more and get “on the mark.”
People ask why did God let this happen. People think of God as being something so external to themselves. In my view if we could understand that we created so much suffering on this planet ourselves that is ours to heal, and with some sense of inner Peace to accomplish this, we could have a world at Peace. A more humane way of life. This is possible. We can do this if we choose and unite.
CALLAHAN: Art is a different thing for me at
different times. It can encompass the feeling of an archeological dig. It can
contain both the ancient and future simultaneously. Art is a very ancient kind
of sensibility with its tactile symbols. Some of my drawings are recognizable.
You can see elephants, a horse, or a woman looking into luminous light, some
are completely abstract. Still there are universal symbols and responses
contained in each.
I have my
favorite poems and books that I draw inspiration from. My work is about seeing
the light and making the connection. It should be something you have to query
or come to.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: In what way does your ART enhance your SPIRITUALITY?
CALLAHAN: I am aware of what I call ‘the
monkey talk’ in my mind. Every time I go into the studio, there are those demons
and angels waiting for me. That’s the monkey talk, resistance, fear, when I
face it and just move forward, one mark at a time, one stroke of paint at a
time it goes away. It always mirrors other situations, thoughts feelings I am
dealing with out it my life somehow so that it a transcend process for me. The
gift of making art is to have a place to work all that out and create something
in the bargain.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Has SPIRITUALITY always been a source of your ARTMAKING? Why? If not, when did the SPIRITUALITY emerge?
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Has SPIRITUALITY always been a source of your ARTMAKING? Why? If not, when did the SPIRITUALITY emerge?
CALLAHAN: If you said to me that my work has
spiritual components, I would say more quickly that my work is feminist. I
consider myself a feminist, which of course is a women’s movement for equality,
it is also a human movement for universal equality. Labeling my art Spiritual feels incongruent,
even though clearly it has that contained within the work, perhaps it is my
concern it will be interpreted to be some kind of fundamentalist thing, which
it is not. I don’t even go to church, except the church called my life.
In the 60’s,
the hippy days, we were questing for our souls. We were hoping to touch the hem
of God. Throwing flowers at Ram Dass, who wrote: Be Here Now and Carlos Castaneda author of: The Fire From Within, and
reading other teachers, Paramahansa Yogananda who wrote: Autobiography of a Yogi.
I am always
trying to understand that “other” part. How does it all weave together?
For me,
the answer is that is more about a person’s “is—ness” and “way of being,” and
that comes out in what you do. Like in the book, Like Water for Chocolate, the resonance of who you are comes through in whatever
you are doing whether it is cooking or making art.
My work
has more to do with passion or soul. It takes me out of the moment and into
this timeless place where I am so engaged I feel fully present and a kind of
Peace. 
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Who (artists, authors, friends, etc.) do you consider influential in the way you think, act, and make ART?
CALLAHAN: CALLAHAN: I wrote them
down in a list. It is mercurial. I think of women artists first Kiki Smith,
Louise Bourgeois,
Cindy Sherman,
Frida Kahlo, Judy Chicago, Sonia Delaunay,
Guerrilla Girls, Ruth Laxson, Alexander Calder,
Howard Finster, Byzantine Art. A lot of the Renaissance
art. I love the aborigine art. Eric
Fischl…Chagall, Kandinsky,
Cy Twombly,
David
Hockney, Bonnard, Vuillard, Matisse,
Julian
Schnable.
When I
think about this as I list these art mentors for me I feel like I am describing
the love affair I’ve been having all my life with each one of them. So cool and
lucky am I to get so turned on by their work.
That is
the short list.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: What is your purpose for making ART?
CALLAHAN: I would like to touch the lives of
others in some way with my art. I don’t have a message. I am not saying, “Do
this or be this or think this.” I
appreciate it if you have an abstract piece of mine, and you love sitting with
it then that’s terrific. Or if you have something with more narrative
composition, and it causes you to make some kind of inquiry, stirs you up,
whatever, then wonderful. I have always
wanted my art to go out and be a part of people’s lives and in the world
connecting somehow.
HALLELUJAH TRUTH: That's a wrap Callahan! I am so glad we had this opportunity to dig deep into your SOUL and feminist mind to learn more about your art making.
CALLAHAN: Thank you so very much for this interview Ruth, such a delight to have this level conversation with you and to connect. I love your enthusiasm and energy about life, art, our Soul's journey on this earth.
CALLAHAN: Thank you so very much for this interview Ruth, such a delight to have this level conversation with you and to connect. I love your enthusiasm and energy about life, art, our Soul's journey on this earth.
An honor
for me for sure.
 |
| A Wrinkle in Time |
SPIRITUAL ART PILGRIM INTERVIEW AFTERWORD
 |
HALLELUJAH TRUTH and CALLAHAN. This photo was taken of us at Callahan's opening “A Sword of Moonlight and Imperishable Love” at Sight and Sound Gallery in the StudioPlex. (photo by Tony Martin)
|
 |
| ARTIST TALK: "A Sword of Moonlight and Imperishable Love," May 22, 2013 at the Sight and Sound Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia. (photo by Hallelujah Truth) |
Following Callahan's opening of "A Sword of Moonlight and Imperishable Love," our interview at her loft/living space in the Old Fourth Ward, my husband, Tony Martin, and I were delighted to attend Callahan's artist talk on May 22nd. Callahan is passionate and compassionate about life. Her art speaks for itself; however, it is fascinating to hear Callahan talk about the LIFE behind her work.
Check out her following websites:
Callahan's current work is now on exhibit at the Sight and Sound Gallery in the Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. "A Sword of Moonlight and Imperishable Love" can be viewed until June 28, 2013. Original pieces of her work are available for purchase, as well as giclees at affordable prices.
If you liked this interview, here are links to my other Spiritual Art Pilgrim Interviews:
1. Cecelia Kane (painter, drawer, performance art)
2. Robey Tapp (book sculptor, collagist, painter)
3. Karen Phillips (painter)
4. Carol Ruckdeschel (naturalist, painter, drawer)
5. Flora Rosefsky (drawer, painter, collagist)
6. Jesse Bathrick (collagist, painter, drawer)
7. Kenny Whitfield (Bahamian Wood Carver)
8. Ty Butler (photographer)
9. Tazwell Morton (drawer, painter, ceramicist)
 |
| RUBY SLIPPERED CALLAHAN Artist Talk, May 22, 2012 Sight and Sound Gallery Atlanta, Georgia "A Sword of Moonlight and Imperishable Love" (photo by Hallelujah Truth) |
