Four

2006

42" Wide x 26" Tall Quadriptych
(each piece is 21" wide x 13" tall)

Acrylic on Board

No Longer Available

Four panels make up the Number 4 painting. In the center is a square (4 sides) with one of the Arabic Glyphs for "4". There are 4 Noble Truths in Buddhism: in this piece, I see these 4 truths in the panels:

Upper Left: Suffering Exists (I see all the words and glyphs for the # 4 as being the constant chatter in our heads…the absence of quiet space)

Upper Right: Suffering Arises from Attachment to Desires (the 4-sided pyramid is an "object" and so represents materialism)
Lower Left: Suffering Ceases when Attachment to Desire Ceases (more quiet space, holy Readings/ teachings, and the allowing-in of the "bubbles" from the 4th panel…)
Lower Right: Freedom from Suffering is Possible (I see the "bubbles" as the sheer potentiality of Quantum Physics, where the space is filled with and surrounded by the # 4, but they move freely, even moving up into the material-based panel above)

None of the panels is just one thing…each has the elements of the others:

*In the upper left panel is a large Indian Glyph for "4", with Arabic, Ancient Greek and Mayan

*In the upper right panel, an Ancient Greek Glyph, the 4-sided pyramid, and the Babylonian "4" Glyph

*The lower right panel has a square with a hill shape in it, the Chinese Glyph for "4". The writing: The number 4 is a quantity. It represents "the first born thing" because it is the "…product of the procreative process" multiplication. 2 x 2=4. A four-leaf clover. There are 4 directions in the geographical coordinate system. Four beasts of the Apocalypse, Connect 4, 4 Wheel Drive, The Final 4, Mah Jong: Chinese game of 4 winds, Square Dancing: Hands 4, 4 Star Generals, Hotels and Restaurants, Degas’ 4 Dancers, As a form, 4 is a square and represents materialization. F. D. Roosevelt’s 4 Freedoms: speech, worship, want, and fear. Dogs are our 4-legged friends . The 4 preferences: Extroversion/Introversion, Sensing/ Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perceiving. 4-year College Degree Program, 4 Dimensions: Breadth, Width, Length, Time In the square in the lower left panel, the writing: The four elements> air, water, fire, earth At Seder> 4 cups of wine, ask 4 questions, read about 4 sons The 4th utterance of redemption Aristotle’s 4 causes: Material, Formal, Efficient, and Final 4 – a Rational Number The 4 Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 4 Letter Words are Bad Words for "Four" in different languages used in this painting: Sanskrit: catvaras, catasras, catvari, catur Avestan: cathwaro Tokharian A: stwar Tokharian B: stwer Armenian: corkh Ancient Greek: tettares, tessares, tetores t Oscan: pettier, petora Latin: quattwor Italian: Quattro Spanish: cuatro French: quatre Romanian: patru Old Erse: cethir, cethoir Breton: pevar Welsh: pedwar Scots Gaelic: peswar Gothic: fidwor Old Icelandic: fjorer Swedish: fyra Old Saxon: fiuwar Anglo Saxon: foewer English: four Old High German: vier German: vier Church Slavonic: cetyre Russian: cetyre Czech: ctyri Polish: cztery Lithuanian: keturi