The Sacrifice
Of Zeus

A public artwork by Cameron Farn 2019 - 12 Pieces at ¾ Life Scale, 1 Artist Proof, 1 at Monument Scale

– Bronze, Gold Leaf, and Pearlized Patinas, Phosphorus Coatings, Fabrics. 

Pricing will be posted soon - Please Contact  Carvel Creative For Details.

Engagement in the independent performance of behaviors? doing it yourself? to exert control which effects an outcome? making choices? The Oxford English Dictionary (Simpson & Weiner, 1989), identified the earliest use of the term self-determination found in 1683 which defined it as
​ - "The determination of one’s mind or will, by itself toward an object." As it is focused on "person."
- "The power to act on our will, whatever it may be without any external compulsion or restraint" (Locke, 1960)
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Self-determination is not a simple notion, phrase, or an action taken of every flaccid thought. Self-determination is not singularly a human condition, but rather, I think, a symptom of the complexities of self-awareness born of the animal instinct. As humans We consider outside forces as adversarial pressures which barricade a path to a predefined goal, of which, we may wrongly believe has been summoned of our own volition, without influence. 

 But can that be true?

 Awareness of our surroundings and social conditioning having giving rise to family groups, societal contracts, laws and such, these are constructs of humankind, designed to apply agreed upon behavioral pressure.  What we have named self-determination, could simply be the product of our evolution whose paths trail behind us, like a colorful strand of choice having been affected by environment and a cacophony of deafening interactions. Perhaps even the development of modern educational institutions themselves, fly in the face of self-determination. And so, one must ask oneself. 
Can a thought be truly my own?    

 - "The best way to predict your future is to create it." - Abraham Lincoln

Are they a spark, or are they the incorporeal remnants of learned actions, behavior and cataloged reactions?” Is Awareness an answer or is it an obstacle to the truth of self-determinism. Even the insect seems aware of the rain and shelters itself. How are we different, how are we more? 
​The concept is so vast we as a species could spend a lifetime in contemplation and barely breach the membrane of a cell which makes up the thought of what we have named self-determinism.

- "Let him who would move the world first move himself" – Socrates

In this vacuum of knowledge formed thousands of gods scribed among the stars, each filling the spaces between the edges of our understanding, and for thousands of years they’ve guided, cursed, or pulled us along a predetermined path which they had set out for us. We were but stories written in the pages of a book called destiny penned by a hand not our own, are we then devoid of will? Had we created the ultimate influence peddlers, simply to avoid the responsibility implied by the question?” Or is their existence tied to our own, in an inexplicable relationship, full of lessons, failures and personal growth meant to bring us closer to a fullness of being. Mythology has molded us, heroic or cowardly, crime or punishment. Whether these stories are of love, hate, justice or compassion, each of them is collections of thoughts created to influence behavior of good intent or sour. I have more questions and not one answer, I have come to no conclusions.

Perhaps self-determination begins with absence. Only your light, in a liquid, soundless void, your first thought, then a fearless step forward, and an ignorant, innocent acceptance of the unknown. Perhaps that single step into this new world is the only moment of true self determination a person can experience...and then hidden by the cloak of forced compulsion you crave for it like an addict, searching for a high that will never come again. - I await your reaction to this maelstrom of stimulus.

- "The fault dear Brutus, is not in the starts, but in ourselves" - William Shakespeare - Julius Caesar

• Zeus crouches on high, resting on the point of a stone, the spears tip. This stone represents the connection of the earth to Olympus, the connection between gods and men and he is about to sever it forever. This sculpture, cast in bronze is a conversation about self-determination and the relinquishing of control, of destiny, of predetermination by the gods. Perhaps this act was meant as a gift maybe it’s a curse. This sculpture only asks the question. The spikes of gold leafed bronze pierce his body as reminders of the weight and cost of responsibility while the wings attached to the heels of Zeus are symbols of potential, of heights yet to be achieved.