The Guardians: A Midsummer's Inspiration Set in Copper (excerpt)

At the age of 62, I was still a virgin—never having participated in an artists' residency before. In such innocence, I uncharacteristically followed instructions. Prominently displayed on the aging roadside near the entrance of the Djerassi Science Delirium Madness, a sign reads: "Yield to Whim." It is in this spirit that The Guardians were born.

On arrival, I found myself in an amazingly serene and stimulating environment surrounded by 10 other scientist/ artist residents. At first glance, we had little in common, and our initial short remarks failed to provide meaningful connectivity. Yet as hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks, strong synergistic bonds developed between members of our diverse group of talented videographers, writers, choreographers, composers, game developers, painters and sculptors like me.

Peter Walter, The Guardians (and artist for scale), 2017. (© Peter Walter. Photo: Patricia Caldera-Munoz.)

Initially, I had no idea what I was going to do, and I searched for inspiration.

By serendipity, inspiration arrived at dinner . . .

(continue reading at <www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/51/3>)

Supplementary Material

• Walter: The Guardians — a midsummer’s inspiration set in copper (.docx 53 MB)
Entire manuscript. (© Peter Walter)