The Leaving and the Left – Teardrop on the Fire

Opening Exhibition 08.07.09 • Noteworthy* Paper&Press

Tender, Laughing and Lovely

Originally uploaded by love not fear

I used this photo in this piece. The only work I did on it in the digital darkroom was to adjust levels, contrast & brightness. The distressed effect of the photo in the final piece is from the glue that I used to apply it to the glass.

Magic Love

Originally uploaded by love not fear

Finished another one. Learning a lot about love, myself, relationships in this process.

The love I have now is real, true, and lasting. I am so happy.

Also learning much about the logistical process of putting these pieces together. One major struggle I’m having is that the metal upon which I’m mounting everything is so thin, I’m having to mount the metal itself onto a piece of wood & hanging it with wire means it pulls away from the wall quite a bit.

Using the “teeth” style hooks may be an option, but there is so little control with those, I think. That, plus pounding them into the wood may break the glass in the artwork.

I may just be having to figure out how to cut my own metal and tack weld a box frame fro these pieces. If I pay Bitterroot Welding to do the same thing, it’s $60 a pop. Worth it, but I don’t have that kind of money for the amount of work I’m planning to produce with this series.

One of my Favorite Days Ever

Originally uploaded by love not fear

Back in the studio after what seems to me like a long abscence. Completed four new pieces. Will write more about the process soon.

“The Leaving and the Left” is a study in hope and heartache, set in brown and yellow metal and glass. Carefully placed in each one are scripted love notes and emotionally detached e-mails, snippets of love and loss that are the bookends of romance on the rise and on the rocks.

“I love you” in beautiful cursive, and “when can you get your things?” in 10-point Helvetica Light.

“When you’re in a relationship, you spend a lot of time composing letters and making phone calls,” said Moss, explaining his motivation.

Read the entire article in The Missoulian [link].

Patina, n. The complex quality of ruins due to its ability to communicate age and history through physical change.

Rusty metal, worn wood, decayed wires. Love, when it first sparks, burns hot. Love needs heat to form, just as metal does, and glass. If the fire burns too hot, it burns itself out. When allowed to cool, it forms a solid recognizable thing that is affected by the ravages of time, and becomes more beautiful as it is exposed to the elements.

The feelings of intense love may fade, but they have been expressed, and still exist somewhere out there in the ether. Also floating out there in the Universe are these bitter, rancorous feelings. Feelings that are just as valid and important as the I love yous and You mean the world to mes. Both feelings deserve to be honored, and the best way to do this is to honor them in the same space in time.

A relationship gains, over time, a collective memory of what the relationship is. The two central figures in a relationship have an idea of what their relationship is, as do those around them. These ideas may be different ones, but they all make up the definition of what that particular relationship is — a collective definition of the relationship. Once the relationship shifts, changes, fades away, what’s left is a collective memory of the relationship.

This emotional patina is best explored with old things. Rusty metal. Reclaimed telephone wires, used in communication. Glass, a liquid that behaves like a solid. Glass, like metal and love, needs heat to form. These materials, along with remnants of forgotten love letters and post-love emails, explore collective memory and emotional patina in The Leaving and the Left, a Celebration of Love and Loss. The series will continue on, hopefully, using letters and emails donated by others, so that the celebration of emotional patina may continue.

Contribute
Please send original love letters to be included in future incarnations of The Leaving and the Left to: PO Box 7457, Missoula, MT, 59802.
If you’d like to send email to the project, which will be printed and remixed for inclusion in future artwork for The Leaving and the Left, please send email to theleavingandtheleft@gmail.com.

Marc Moss
Marc Moss was born and raised in the Rust Belt near Akron, Ohio. Shortly after earning his Bachelor of Science in English from Kent State University in 1995, Marc worked in Yellowstone National Park seasonally until 2001. He kicked around several Montana towns before settling in Missoula in 2002. Marc has created artwork all of his adult life, and has shown in Akron, Ohio, and throughout Missoula, Montana.

Thanks
Without the support and continued patience of many many people, this project could not have been completed. Thank you to all who have helped along the way, including, The Art Hang Up, Lucas Dupuis, Lucas Grossi, Home Resource, Abby McGill, and all who have believed in the project, especially those who have contributed to it.