Semaphore

What Makes It Great? / Featured / October 12, 2023

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour

excerpt from The Auguries of Innocence by William Blake

By Suzanne Révy

From time to time, a small wonder will stop me in my tracks. Whether it is a grain of sand or a wildflower working its magical allure, it feels life-affirming. How can we fathom the web of connections between place, time, and people in the small objects or natural phenomena we encounter daily? Torrance York reveals a heightened attention to such telling details in her series Semaphore. In a creative and spiritual response to her diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, she brings together a series of contemplative and poetic images in a salon-style presentation at the Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, MA, on view through January 28th, 2024. An Opening Reception with the artist is planned for this Saturday, October 14th from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

“Untitled 6303” by Torrance York, 2021 from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art, NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

“Untitled 1567” by Torrance York, 2013, from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art, NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

A “semaphore” is the coded language used in the 18th century among ships and shorelines using flags or lights. York brings a new meaning to these signals which were originally designed to communicate across vast distances. We can never fully know another person’s pain or joy, but symbols and metaphors can help bridge those chasms. A spiral line in the sand, for instance, imbues a sense of calm and touches us on an emotional level. Spiral patterns can be both mesmerizing or dizzying. I have no doubt that York’s diagnosis threw her into a tailspin, but the melodic rhythms she depicts may also feel healing in the face of a chronic illness.

“Untitled 5365” by Torrance York, 2021, from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art, NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

“Untitled 4174” by Torrance York, 2019, from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

Spheres and orbs suffuse York’s work, echoing the circular nature of life and circadian rhythms of the year. Harnessing seasonal variations in light, she endows found objects, such as an effusion of pink cherry blossoms or a block of ice that had formed in the dog’s water bowl with hope and possibility. Objects she finds during outdoor wanderings, like peeling birch bark or an abandoned, heart-shaped bird’s nest, reveal the artist’s reverence for earthly delights.

“Untitled 9920” by Torrance York, 2020, from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

(Featured Image) “Untitled 6341” by Torrance York, 2020, from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

“Untitled 8019” by Torrance York, 2020, from the series Semaphore, courtesy of the artist, Rick Wester Fine Art NYC and the Danforth Art Museum.

Throughout the exhibition, images depicting skin convey York’s grappling with her newly altered sense of vulnerability. A tiny injection wound, a bruised foot or an arm immersed in a bubble bath, all offer recognizable entry points into our shared humanity. With elegance and poignancy, she portrays an embrace between two people, lovingly clasped hands, and the simple caress of two torsos, an assertion that the sensation of human touch is healing. Although York’s diagnosis has inspired Semaphore, her uncluttered, metaphoric images reach far beyond, pointing to the profound truth of our common mortality.

While you are Danforth Art Museum, be sure to check out the broad selection of photography from the permanent collection now on view, including fourteen recently acquired black and white prints of the Pulaski Motel by Neal Rantoul.

For more information: https://danforth.framingham.edu