Icarus I

1995
Stone Lithograph on Strathmore paper
13×10 inches ea

The print series “Icarus” was produced during my study of lithography with Ken Hale at the University of Texas at Austin, while I completed my Architecture BA. It is inspired by the classical myth of Icarus, who while escaping imprisonment with glorious wings, flew too close to the sun and fell. It is a story of youthful hubris leading to disastrous tragedy. The figure loses flight and falls, looking back upwards at his beautiful dissolving wings. In the first state of the print, “Icarus,” he is represented more naturally, in somewhat angelic form. In the second state, “Icarus II,” the architecture of the wings is revealed as the engine of his elevation and ultimate destruction. At the time of this work, I was experiencing great stress (and also delight), working very hard at the architecture program with other very talented students. The image is my personal connection to the hardships and joys involved in the process of learning to have a functional and unique design aesthetic.