In 2005 F Scott Gallery (Sudbury, Mass) mounted a show of my paintings called, Golem-Maker.
I was thinking that the culmination of my monstery works was a 7′ x 10′ comic-like wall mural relating the story of the Golem of Prague (about a clay sculpture that comes to life to rescue the Jewish people), but as I sat on the backless wooden bench in the white-walled gallery, surrounded by my monsters and heroes, a childlike-simple phrase came to me, "I am here", attached to the foundational musical progression: a b c.
In early 2003, just as I was discovering golems through Marge Piercy's He, She and It – a book that tells two golem/salvation stories, my friend, and former Acacia band-mate, John died tragically at 38. And I found I couldn't help but ask what if there was a golem that John might have built ...
... which may sound trite, or ridiculous. After all, are golems real? But, what I meant was: wasn't it possible that at the heart of our rescuing is what we dismiss as ridiculous?
And so with I Am Here , a cry for rescue, as a starting place, I began (with the help of Tim Gunderman) to develop a music drama – a marriage of my visual and musical artwork – in which a glass installer in a small shop in Worcester dreams up a golem.
Tim Gunderman, Fran Reagan and I have begun to perform and record The Glass Man with our trio, Little Levity.
—Lawrence Strauss
P.S. I've begun an art and music blog at bit.ly/musicartblog ... please join in the conversation.