W A T E R = L I F E
“Human beings are a way that water has of going about, beyond the reach of the river. ”
One Drop, Gouache 3x4
One aesthetic in contemporary art is to to reduce form, dimension and line to its minimal essence. Many artists set out to convey their thoughts and inspirations in as few strokes as possible, something like a visual haiku.
The River's Journey Project is our artistic exploration of our water source. If I were to reduce our quest to it's most minimal form, I would say "water = life". Water is our most basic resource for survival. Without it, life doesn't exist.
Even in our grandest space explorations, we use water to find new life. It makes sense that NASA uses a "follow the water" strategy to locate other life in the universe, says astrobiologist, Lynn Rothschild.
It seems our search for water is wired into our DNA. During a 2010 TED talk, Denis Dutton proposed "A Darwinian Theory of Beauty". When people were asked to describe a beautiful landscape, they universally identified these elements- ". open spaces, covered with low grass, interspersed with trees. And if you add water to the scene—either directly in view, or as a distant bluish cast that the eye takes as an indication of water—the desirability of that landscape skyrockets". He theorized these were the elements necessary for human survival: grasses and trees for food (and to attract edible animal life); the ability to see approaching danger (human or animal) before it arrives; trees to climb if you need to escape predators; and the presence of an accessible source of water nearby.
Considering our brains are 80% water and our bodies are 60% water, we are deeply connected to this resource.
I love this description by science writer Loren Eisely. "Human beings are a way that water has of going about, beyond the reach of the river."
Follow our journey at www.rose-compass.com
Excerpts From: Wallace J. Nichols & Céline Cousteau. “Blue Mind.” Little, Brown and Company, 2014-07-22