BIG BANG BOOM

The Ink on Paper

I drew Big Bang Boom after an epiphany about how people come into our lives. I recently learned how my art can serve others as well as it heals me and brings enjoyment to my own life. Sharing my thoughts and feelings through art has open new doors and I’ve been able to connect with more people. Kind, loving, like-minded people. After having this epiphany, they came flooding into my life as if through some cosmic veil. And I likened it to the Big Bang. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in its present continuously expanding state. I’ve become aware that my own life, as well as everyone’s lives, are continuously expanding states. I drew the original version to remind me of this beautiful phenomenon.

The Mural

I was invited to paint a wall that will welcome artists who have been moving to a more affordable neighborhood close to Wynwood. I thought the Big Bang metaphor was relevant and so I scaled up my drawing, intending to create stencils. I had a difficult time making them without a team and time and switched gears to do the wall freehand. This turned out to be more fun because I had the chance to improvise a lot of it. I also had invaluable help from visionary artist Brian Lahr, my high school friend Jodi Goldman Weinman and my wife, Samara.

The Print

On the flight home from Miami I played around with the original drawing in Photoshop just for fun. I loved the results and realized that creating prints of the Big Bang Boom piece was another good way to share the “people exploding into your life” idea. Upon landing in New York, I immediately called master printer Stephen Gross and worked with him in his Brooklyn print studio for a few weeks. The following three versions of Big Bang Boom were released as a collector’s series.