Life-size cast gypsum sculpture, mixed media with acrylic eyes. Argus has been called "The All-seeing", because he had 100 eyes. Io was a priestess of the Greek goddess Hera, who was the jealous wife of Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus was indeed very unfaithful. When Zeus fell in love with Io, he transformed himself into the shape of a dark cloud to hide himself from his jealous wife. However, Hera looking on earth, noticed the small cloud and suspected that the cloud was one of the Zeus' tricks. She approached to check the true nature of the cloud. As soon as Hera arrived, Zeus immediately transformed Io into a white cow to avoid his wife’s wrath. But Hera guessed the intrigue and asked Zeus to give her the cow as a gift. Zeus could not refuse such a little gift without giving himself away. Thus, Hera tied the poor cow and sent her faithful servant, Argus, to watch over Io. Argus has been called "The All-seeing", because he had 100 eyes and only a few were ever closed at any time. To free Io, Zeus sent his son Hermes, who came disguised as a shepherd. He sat beside Argus, and told him so many tales that all of Argus' eyes fell asleep. Then Hermes beheaded him with a hooked sword and untied Io who ran home free. When Hera discovered what had occurred, she was so furious that she sent a vicious gadfly to sting the cow forever. Moreover, to honor the memory of her faithful servant, Hera put the hundred eyes of Argus on the tail of her favorite bird, the peacock. The hundred eyes could not see any more but they beautifully decorate the tail of the peacock.
New Sculpture by Philip Hitchcock
Opening Night Reception to Benefit HIGHWAYS Performance Space and Gallery Santa Monica: MYTH: Life size male erotic sculpture by Philip Hitchcock will be exhibited at Highways Gallery in Santa Monica from August 1, 2003 through August 31, 2003 at the 5th Annual Highways Gallery Benefit. The opening night Benefit reception is on Thursday, August 7, 2003 starting at 7:00 pm. Meet the artist and his models at the reception, which also includes a no-host bar, fanciful hors d' hoevres. music and surprise entertainment. Tickets are $20. Gallery hours for the duration of the show are 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm before performances on weekends and during the week by appointment or chance. Highways is located at 1621 18th Street in Santa Monica.
MYTH showcases new works by Hitchcock that are inspired by Celtic, Greek, and Hindu, mythologies. Especially evocative among the new works are, The Eyes of Argus, The Myth of the Minotaur, and The Birth of Cernunnous. Argus is the trusted 100 eyed guard sent by Hera to watch over Zeus' concubine. Hermes slew him and the distraught Hera collected his beautiful eyes to be forever preserved in the feathers of the Peacock. The Minotaur is the abomination born to Pasipha after she seduced a White Bull sent by Poseidon. Cerrnunous, who pre-dates Christianity, is the Celtic God of fertility and renewal and is always depicted with Stag horns and an erect phallus.
"I have long been fascinated by the overt eroticism and sexually driven story lines of classical myth", confides Hitchcock. "I discovered that the sanitized stories I heard as a kid were actually rich with prurience! So I decided to create works that were a celebration of sexual fantasy, yet still grounded in the classics."
A special artist discussion will be held on Sunday, August 17 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. The artist will present slides and video and lead a frank discussion of his work. There will also be a demonstration of Hitchcock's bodycast technique on a nude male model.