The Story of a Two-Person Show called "Where Are You?"

Exhibits and shows come together in a lot of ways and the story of how "Where Are You?" , a two-person show featuring my work and that of my colleague, Dan Augenstein, is based on a singular conversation over coffee about one simple question asked by a supernatural being.  Where are you?  

It was late summer and Dan and I were meeting to talk about completely other matters, but as is common with us artist folks, we got on a tangent and the idea of a show was born.  Dan and I are both people of faith, so when we talk about our art, the spiritual aspects of creating often get discussed.  In this particular conversation. Dan was relating something God had brought up to him over the last several weeks.  It comes from Genesis right after Adam and Eve’s fateful choice to choose their wisdom instead of God’s. 

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”  Genesis 3:8-9

Here’s the gist of what we discussed: 

God asked Adam this question when he was physically hiding after bringing sin into the world, but this question has a lot more to do with Adam’s spiritual, emotional and mental hiding than it does with where his body is located.   

Other ways that God could have posed the question, perhaps: 

Where is our relationship, Adam? 

Where is your heart, Adam?

Where is your love, Adam?

Where are the deepest parts of your soul that I have lovingly designed and formed out of my good pleasure? 

Where are you? 

This is a question that is asked of each of us and it is the beginning of being found if we are willing to courageously address the answer.  

This body of work puts each of us in various places where we can kindly and thoughtfully ask ourselves….where are you?  

Are you willing to be found out?

Are you willing to be loved as you are?

This question kept ringing in my head throughout the week and then I got  the reminder that I was slated to do a solo show down in Denver in October.  But I didn’t have enough work to fill the space.  I did when I signed up, I promise.    Then Dan’s question popped up again and so did some information he shared…he had a lot of work sitting in his basement that had no plans.   

Bingo.  

So here we are….several weeks into a two-person show that started with a conversation over coffee and a question that wouldn’t go away.   A question that could make a big difference to a lot of people. If you aren’t sure where you are….please don’t hesitate to reach out.  I’d love to ponder that question with you over coffee.