Lightmark is Jens Warneke Cenci Goepel. They were the last artists Luminary visited on the European trip. Looking back, I can't imagine a better ending to our Journey. I thought they lived in Haamburg, but it turns out they live just over an hour outside Haamburg in what used to be East Germany. They live with 4 other people in a house that is over 200 years old with a barn in the yard that, according to local tradition, was the original center of the town they live in. The barn is approximately 400 years old. Their "farmhouse" and little farm is so idyllic that I felt like I had been transported to some perfect fantasy world of self sufficiency and natural beauty. No, really.....It's not going to be possible for me to actually express what their habitat was like, but I'll try.
There were crazy Chinese chickens running around the yard, old East German trailers functional and parked in the yard, the firewood was chopped perfectly and piled high in beautiful geometric constructions, a Smart Car took up a discreet amount of space in the corner of the grass, the horses were majestic and tranquil, the tools were perfectly arraigned and the history was palpable. I could hear no traffic and within a 1 minute drive we were in pristine forest complete with lakes and massive black slugs everywhere. Also within a minute was the beautiful, rolling, seasonal, yellow Rapsfelds. They made their own wine, we ate the eggs from their chickens, our rubbish was neatly deposited in their compost pile, the house was filled with books on all manner of subjects from sex to the supernatural....art to architecture.....from the mundane to the existential. Jens and Cenci must have seen our exhaustion. I saw that they paid careful attention to our well being both physically and emotionally. Lightmark's pictures have an ineffable quality. They represent a mentality and state of being that is acutely aware of everything outside of themselves. It seems that one of the trademarks of "advanced" people, of people who are "enlightened", is that they have the ability to concern themselves with, be aware of, and, most importantly, value others and their environment at least as much as they value themselves. Jens and Cenci have this internal state of consciousness and I think this is clearly demonstrated in their pictures. Lightmark images are immediately recognizable. Their is a trademark, signature, psychically imprinted into their pictures. There is a transference that happens within their process. A transference of between them and the location. They become a part of the landscape. They become totally integrated and the "lightmarks" they leave behind remind us that we should be living in harmony with ourselves and the world around us. I feel a tremendous amount of respect emanating from their pictures; a respect for the planet, a respect for each other, a respect for creation, a respect for the audience. Looking at Lightmark's art always feels like an invitation to me. Their images invite me to share in the beauty. I feel like part of the impact that their pictures have comes from something akin to an open invitation to us all. It is an invitation to slow down, breath deeply, and try to leave your mark on the world in a way that is antithetical to our all-too-often capitalistic, consumeristic, manic culture that makes imperialistic lifestyles of dominance appear to be the way "forward". It's an invitation to "un-insulate" yourself from others and the wonders that exist all around us in every moment. Jens and Cenci provided Luminary with a calm, transformative energy that I grow to appreciate more as time passes. Thank You
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