Ian Boyden (From Bear Dream)

When Sam Hamill read at Spring Street Center back in November 2012 to celebrate and display his collaborations with the painter, book maker and artist Ian Boyden (see this link) Ian gave me a copy of a book on his work entitled: Flowing Movement: The Material Imagination of Ian Boyden. In it are essays by appreciators of his work, reproductions of some of his remarkable paintings, notes on his fascination with ink, artists statements and an interview.

On the occasion of Ian’s birthday today (his Facebook page says he is 102) I went back to the book and found myself on the artist statement for Immortal Feast, in which he describes projects where he makes casts of his head in bird seed or concrete, places them in semi-wild locations and watches what happens. Buy his book for the specific details, but how he continues to be inspired by a uniquely Cascadian blend of modern concerns (the ongoing decimation of species and biodiversity by man-caused activities) with an eternal Eastern sense of impermanence, always presented with a vibrant sense of humor is  delight for me.

You can see a still video of his Bear Dream here.

Happy 102nd Ian.