Inspired Artist Brings Homer's Odyssey to Life in Colorful Style

Written by Elizabeth G.

(2005)

     When I think of the word tapestry, medieval hunting scenes created by intricately woven strands of gold intertwined with silken and woolen threads come to mind. However, upon entering the Atrium of the Olympic Tower (Onassis Cultural Center) in Manhattan, I encountered, much to my delight, a very unique collection of contemporary abstract tapestries called Odyssey. Made with an avant-garde flair, the twelve pieces on display were inspired by Homer’s famous epic and took ten years to complete.

     The creator of this beautiful art is Artemis, an artist from Liechtenstein whose adopted country is Greece. The “…immensely beautiful and terrible forces [of nature]…”(p.12) influenced the artist to create images of key figures in the epic: the wooden horse which was given to Troy; the Resourceful Man, Odysseus; his son Telemachus; the terrible Cyclops; the enchantress, Circe; the lord of the Underworld, Hades; the eerily haunting Sirens; the lonely goddess Calypso; the terrifying Scylla and Charybdis; the charming young maiden Nausicaa; Odysseus as the Archer; and his darling wife Penelope.

      The texture of the tapestries is best characterized by the words of Artemis: “Woolen, yarn: earth. Flax, cotton: water. Viscose, silk: light. I know of no other technique that could better express the wonderful activity of this ‘natural alchemic laboratory’ that is my chosen island [Tinos]. Here, the light is embodied in the material. Here, material becomes light.” (p.8)
      Cycladic sunlight is reputed to be resplendent, captivating or off-putting.  As a descendant of the Caribbean islands, where the sky brightens and darkens at the same time, I could easily appreciate the poetic and vibrant images captured in the threads. Inspired by the light, vigorous winds, and the beautiful Aegean Sea, Artemis deftly combines these elements to give rise to a truly unique interpretation of the tale.

     According to the catalogue, Artemis wove only in the daylight. Her pieces involve a wide range of hues and tones. Bright colors like turquoise stand out sharply against shades of gray and black in the work entitled Penelope. Her austere face is a blend of the pink sky, set off with a yellow setting sun, given away by the dark blue waves and the bleak grayish black color of the borders. This gives rise to her fidelity, a marital martyr. Another multi-colored tapestry is The Sirens. No one color stands out except for the large off white foreground, interspersed with curved strips of color like ocean blue, burgundy, stark black, patches of beige and olive green. An eye and a smiling mouth, perhaps hinting at malevolent glee, are readily recognized as facial parts. Wavy lines, either representative of the sea, hair, or even eyebrows are scattered throughout the tapestry.

     No words could better express the sentiment of the pieces than the very artist’s words: “Not ending, not defining in rhythms, rough sketches of forms and colors, even the black are flooded by light...So that the light renders idea, material, form and color ‘imperceptible,’ dissolving them into energy and turning them back into light, when something wants to be said.”(p.12) Simply put, light is Artemis’ Muse. The threads seem ever shifting to form scattered images lucidly united under the title Odyssey.