January 1, 2020
My process in art is to allow the collective memory of shape to flow as uninhibited as possible–this “corona” (image above) could be an example–I was unaware of the virus on January 1, 2020. But indeed this drawing is a very striking image of the SARS-Co-V-2.
Now it is the twenty-forth of April 2020. When I drew this I had no idea of the impending pandemic of SARS-Co-V-2 which causes COVID-19.
I was noting how the seasonal cycle was shifting–an expression of global warming, and yet the most significant change, probably also a result of global warming, was happening at an accelerated pace–a pandemic of unimaginable proportions that continues at this moment. The mortality rates are climbing around the world. Quarantines and social isolation have emptied the skies of planes, stores are shuttered, restaurants are closed for eating in, all is take-out, masks are required for entry into public spaces, social distancing is the decorum of civility. And the meme–we’re all in this together–is the mantra as economic disaster looms on the horizon of our decline. Now 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 and 180,000 deaths.
John Marcucci
April 24, 2020