Oak Leaves

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  • 112% contributed

Oak Leaves represents my most ambitious work to date, painting a replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. This idea and project are monumental in scale, so I plan to begin by focusing on two iconic figures, The Libyan and Cumaean Sibyls, from Michelangelo’s 15th century fresco in the Vatican. By offering a contemporary version of the ceiling, with the additions of my own painted overtures and overwritings, imbued with my lived experience of madness, I hope to offer an alternative narrative of this historic piece, using art to challenge stigma and open minds.

About This Project

Sibyls are prophetesses, or oracles, in and around ancient Greece. Their ability to see the future, to prophesy, ranks them among those whose abilities would be considered mad in a more contemporary, or non-religious/spiritual, setting. It is said that the Cumaean Sibyl was known to write prophesies on oak leaves, letting them scatter in the wind at the entrance of her cave. This overlap of madness, culture, and story telling is of great importance to how I see the world and how modern society has medicalized all who experience anything outside of a proposed “normal.”

Who defines normalcy?

For this campaign, I intend to reproduce two of the Sibyls from the ceiling, specifically the Libyan Sibyl and the Cumaean Sibyl, each one measuring 12 x 12 feet. I have already completed one version of this concept, the Delphic Sibyl, which measures 8 x 10 feet. This was a featured piece in my solo exhibition, of exceptions, presented at Artruss Gallery in the Fall of 2023. This was the first time this idea was presented to the public, so I have renewed enthusiasm for the exciting potential of this project.

Knowing that the full-scale version of the ceiling requires considerably more time and resources, these initial two Sibyl paintings will serve as an important milestone and proof of concept. My plan is to complete these and display them to the public at The Center for Mad Culture in August of 2024. I will be painting the works for the two months prior to that and will host open studio events each of the second Fridays of June and July, inviting guests to see the work in progress.

My ultimate goal is to reproduce a version of the entire ceiling and display it in its entirety within the beautiful architecture of The Epiphany Center for the Arts. Their historic chapel, unencumbered by interior pillars, can house the whole ceiling and will offer a spectacular environment to experience this extraordinary new set of paintings.

In order to eliminate stigma, to change the paradigms of the past, and to assess our future needs, we need to reevaluate the past and open dialogues with present ideas. This project aims to do all that. It will be a work which exists as a way of seeing that our past is not written in stone, it can be reworked to meet the experiences of the present. Art has a beautiful capacity to envelop us in that way. And, art, when done with this intent, will change how we move into the future and expand the concepts presented to us. I want to present madness and offer it to the future.

Thank you for your kindness and consideration. With your help this project will come to fruition and will change how we talk about madness, disability, art, and our individual experiences.

Thank yous

Contribute any amount or choose from the levels below.

• $20
  Personal Thank You and shout out on social media ($20.00 is tax deductible.)
• $50
  Above, plus your name listed in programming materials (names will be listed with the artwork in all iterations, including when it is displayed in its final form) ($50.00 is tax deductible.)
• $75
  All of the above, plus a risograph print with imagery related to the paintings being produced (two different images will be created for this Thank You, I will reach out to offer a choice based on the two Sibyls represented.) ($55.00 is tax deductible.)
• $100
  All of the above, plus an invitation to a private studio tour, or Zoom studio visit to talk about the works in progress. ($80.00 is tax deductible.)
• $250
  All of the above plus an etching with imagery related to the paintings being produced. ($180.00 is tax deductible.)

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Matt Bodett

Matt Bodett received his MFA from Boise State University in 2011, and taught printmaking there until he moved to Chicago in 2013. Since moving to Chicago he has played an active role in disability advocacy and utilizing artwork to open …

View Matt Bodett's profile

• 2 updates
• 42 supporters

• Update 1: We made it to 1/3!

  Posted on April 15, 2024

  

   

  Hello everyone, I wanted to thank you, sincerely! Because of your donations we have made it to the 1/3 mark, which means that the 3Arts grant kicked in and got us to the 2/3 mark for fundrasing. This means there is only a short way to go!! There is no way big projects like this can happen without support, and it means a lot to know that there is a community of people wiling to believe in me on this one. Its going to be a wild summer, and I look forward to sharing details with you all! Until then, share this project with anyone you know and let's all celebrate soon.

  Cheers!

  Update 2: I can't say it enough, Thank You!

  Posted on April 19, 2024

  

   

  A HUGE thank you to each of you who have contributed to this project! As of this morning I have met the initial goal and with the remaining time I have set a stretch goal of $10,000. Your donations thus far will assist me in procuring the supplies needed to complete two of the panels for this massive project. With the stretch goal I intend to purchase more canvas, allowing me to go well beyond the first two panels, and I will have crates fabricated which can store the large scale works safely until they can be displayed properly. With a project of this scale I know that every donation matters, and you have all been tremendous in getting me this far! Pass the word along, share this widely, and I look forward to celebrating underneath a different Sistine chapel ceiling in the future!!

   

• Thank you to the following for contributing to 3Arts with the recommendation that we support this project.

  • Joshua With

  • A-shea:) Wheeler

  • Katherine Fowler

  • Josh R

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Roldán Bernabé

  • Paul Krause

  • Saleem Penny

  • Reveca Torres

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Eric Bremer

  • Jill Chmelko

  • Sasha Warren

  • Pamela Sottile

  • Evan Hatfield

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Mesha Arant

  • Carol Gadeken

  • Deborah Lader

  • Michelle McCoy

  • CARTER HOWARD

  • Sandy Guttman

  • Barton Longacre

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Billie Howard

  • Marissa Moorman

  • Carrie Sandahl

  • Megan Sterling

  • Angelique Grandone

  • Mike and Rachelle Stromberg

  • Pamela Sottile

  • Meghann Sottile

  • Jay Fox

  • Jen Farrell

  • Michael Cummings

  • Ladonna Freidheim

  • Dr. Myron M Beasley

  • Carol Gadeken

  • Eric Bremer

  • Dr. Myron M Beasley

  • Kal

  • Matthew Brett

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