An Unusual Faces collection painting by the Artisto Grego

Deus ex machina pronounced Day-uhs-eks-Mah-kuh-nuh. A term often associated with Euripides the Greek from the 5th century BC. Its current translation in New Latin means God from the machine, or any active agent or thing that suddenly appears unexpectedly to solve an apparently insoluble situation.

As artists often due, we attempt to push the envelope to the extreme, testing our abilities to be unique and dynamic. My newest short story about the “Deus Ex Machina” concept painting will inspire and fascinate you with its raw strangeness. Ten years ago, I was told that my paintings are very obscure and even child like in need of direction and talent lessons, funny how life goes sometimes. Recently I sold one of those childish paintings for big money and I laughed all the way to the bank, because deep in my soul I knew it was worth it. I just had to get inside of the buyers head to explain why I painted it and why he needed it. As an artist on the rise in the millennium, you must wear many hats and be multifaceted. To get to the top, you must be a clever writer, a talented quick sketch artist, a painter with inspiration, a digital camera photographer, and a web site guru with knowledge of the internet. Most importantly, you need to be a really good communicator salesman, and be fortunate enough to have God on your side.

Grego’s meaning behind “Deus Ex Machina”

Since the beginning of time, men and women have always thought differently about things, probably because our circuits are not wired the same. In every relationship, there always seems to be insolvable situations, and often we are not willing to find the secret agent to solve the situation. To me, Deus Ex Machina is very simple for all of us to figure out with a little help.

The two heads in the painting combined into one simply means that we need to learn to think as one, not just our own way. The screws in the painting remind us to communicate clearly, so that we do not end up screwing things up. The melting golden wedding ring represents the importance of the sanctity of marriage, and its vows of commitment. The dove stands for peace, love, faith, tenderness, compassion, harmony, and forgiveness. The pink heart split in half, represents to me that it takes two people to fall in love and then our hearts become as one.

The eyeball staring back at the woman represents the reality, that many relationship problems often stare you in the face, and we must be strong enough to accept the fact that problems are merely challenges to agree upon and overcome. The yellow sun on the left side of the painting reminds us of how powerful God really is, and how trivial our anxieties and temper tantrums really are. The twisted funnel-like objects in the painting are enlarged eardrum channels, reminding us on a daily basis that how and what we listen to affects us, and either inspires us, or demoralizes us as a society. There are single red tears on each face that means that true love will only survive if you are willing to fight to protect each other from harm. There is also a penis, a vagina, and a horseshoe in the painting as well, which to me represents the fact that people are always thinking about getting lucky. Sex to many is considered a miracle cure. The imported Italian glass tiles were added for uniqueness, and they are a reminder for us to travel the world and see things together whenever possible. I added a few circular miniature glass mirrors for dynamics, so that you can see your own self-expressions of how you react to things in the mirrors. When your chin hits the ground and you gasp and say “Oh my Stars, what is that”. Then, you have discovered the meaning of the painting.

So there you have it, my “Deus Ex Machina” painting is strange, far out, wild, imaginative, and magnificently clever. The active agent or solution that suddenly appears to solve the insoluble relationship difficulties has always been there, right in front of us to learn from. You just have to be awake enough to notice it. Finding inner harmony, considering others before your self, and realizing that we are all equally as important is the answer to the riddle.

Written by the Artisto Gregory Michael Maness “Grego”
Dedicated: to people all around the world who wish to find true love.
Copyright Pending 2006 for HYPERLINK "http://www.gregoart.com" www.gregoart.com