Letter from the Editor

Summer teeters on the brink of its passing, and though here in Phoenix we cannot register the passing of the seasons by changes in foliage, we can count on a new sort of blossoming as a harbinger to more pleasant Fall weather and a proliferation of life. Take a stroll down Mill Avenue and you will see these promising sprouts budding about, clogging the streets and coffee shops with their laptops, big ideas, and less jaded hopes.

We all owe academia and the educational institutions of this world for the lives we lead, the advances that surround us at every moment, and the security and comfort of family and future. It’s those liberal minded, counter brainwashing citadels that take our youth, the blank slates and untarnished minds and mold them into something not only beneficial for themselves, but the world at large. They strip our prejudices and our preconceptions from a lifetime of repetition without reflection and attempt to start anew.

If they carried our own hesitations with them, who in their right mind would chose Art as a profession having already delved into the working world? The responsibilities of full adulthood and citizenship have already shackled many of us to a career and a required monthly paycheck that negates any opportunity to dream of something larger, more grandiose, more selfless.

Phoenix Art Space is, in a sense, a freshman to this institution of Art and the world. Much like the trolling college students spelunking through the departments of ASU for a major, a direction in life, we do the same. Our hopes are grand, our potential is huge, and like a proud parent, you’ve stood beside us.

It occurred to me upon graduation from college so many years ago (okay, not that many), that I was entering a world I had never really experienced. From birth we are tailored for success by the standards of a report card. We are measured not by our accomplishments, but our potential.

What a beautiful thing: to be measured by the hue of dreams, to see beyond the immediate and the limitations of the past. Why are only the young perceived with such open minds and hearts? Are we really so blinded by the veil of our memory? All that we believe or understand has been implanted by query from someone older, not direct observation or experience…that is, until we make the choice to open our own eyes.

We are all capable of shedding the weight of the past and escaping the captivity of consistency. The capacity for change is ever present. It is the eternal struggle between stasis and motion, the generational gap. Time is marching on, and so must we.

In passive surrender, we walk through our lives along the paths we’ve cut through the thickets, not daring to stray beyond the previously discovered and accepted. We are all granted the free will to brave a new path, discover a new world. But we with roots must guard and maintain a home for the wandering seeds we sew to the world. They will not thrive in our shadow. And we must allow them to wander into the wild despite the danger and the uncertainty.

What is it that inspires us to take such a bold leap, to believe in the hopes and dreams of someone so much younger and less experienced? There is but one thing above all others that emboldens the intrepid and daring adventurers who brave beyond the meadow. Not concern, guidance, or the fear of disappointment. Just love. Simple love.

Love is potential. Love is hope and understanding. Phoenix Art Space and those who support us will do well to remember that as we stumble through this world with our big hopes and grandiose dreams. And I hope you will look upon us and the city evolving around you with love so that we may all live in a more beautiful world.