Eight Garden Steps 2002

In May 2002, Abendmusik performed Eight Garden Steps at First-Plymouth Congregational church in Lincoln, Nebraska. This event combined original poetry, music and painting to portray the human journey from infancy to old age. These paintings now hang permanently in the church's prayer room.

Excerpts from the Artist's Statement:

Erik Erikson, a 20th century psychologist, identified eight stages in the human lifespan. Except for one, the titles for the works in Eight Garden Steps are the names he gave to these stages.

Besides Erikson, other influences were the Bible, ancient sayings and beliefs found in Taoism, the symbolism and parallels of plant life, and the Prairie Style architecture of First-Plymouth Church.

Site plays an important part in how these paintings are viewed. The prayer room is a round room just off the sanctuary. It is small and intimate. When you enter it, these "contemplation panels" encircle you, beginning on the left with infancy and continuing clockwise to the right ending with old age. They fit in architectural niches with the wooden supports of the room framing them.

The best way to view these panels is to take your time. Don't be too eager. Let them come to you. Think of the period in life each one represents. Think of the human development occurring at each stage, the primary relationships, and the issues and feelings. There is nothing in the paintings to remind you of a figure, or of anything you could touch or pick up. They are about feelings. They were done for a quiet place to encourage centeredness and contemplation.