Thomas Codol

Artworks

Great Rhombicosidodecahedron in Cursive Dark

Great Rhombicosidodecahedron in Cursive Dark
Natural pigments
60 x 60 x 60 cm

Truncated Icodahedron

Truncated Icosahedron and Dodecahedron Compound in Cursive Light
Cut paper
30 x 30 x 30 cm

womb, geometry, paper, Thomas Codol
The Womb
Original design on paper, hand-drawn and hand-cut
60 x 60cm

Artist statement

I am grateful to be part of this programme at the School of Traditional Arts. Being a self-taught artist, I had felt left behind by modern art schools that seem to place a tremendous emphasis on digital media. Though I have no reservations about utilizing new media platforms, in my practice it is important that the initial creation occurs by hand. For me, the School’s philosophy of “head, heart and hand” is what renders true the work of those who come to study here.

My work is about Light. When I was a youth I would draw for hours on end. I used to fill pages with chaotic patterns until there was no space left. With each new piece the pages gained nuance, the expression gained texture, and as my work matured I began to notice that the space I initially strove to fill was allowed to be left open. I find that it is within this space, that appears to be empty, that something is at play. There is this something that hides between words that refuses to be articulated – either heard or written. My art is about making room for this something which is hidden.

My practice is informed through my lifelong study of traditional cultures. As a child my summers were spent visiting the pueblos, mesas, and reservations of Native American communities. As a young adult, my fascination shifted to the study of Japanese language. It was during my studies in Kyoto that I became aware of how language guides tradition. It would follow that the strength of tradition I found in Japan shared a nuance within the Islamic crafts. So, as an adult I travelled to historic Islamic empires bordering the Mediterranean to study the visual languages present there. Though initially unconscious, I have found that this method of learning tradition through direct experience has no substitute.

My research is an inquiry into the methodology of the traditional designer. I approach this work through the lens of the inventor, which is a tradition that goes back over a century in my family. This lens is a playful one that is open to inquiry, experiment and discovery. When I look to the Alhambra in Granada, the minarets of Cairo, or the mosques of Istanbul, I notice that each is adorned with a distinct language. Each language is speaking a story that unites these spaces into separate, but cohesive frameworks. However, If there were going to be a new story, what would it look like? What stories have been forgotten that are awaiting their return? What are the designs that have been lost to time?

For my 2nd Year project I have begun the ambitious task of creating a new pattern language – new but rooted in tradition. Based on the structure of curvilinear roundels found throughout medieval Andalusia, this language is a geometry of curves rather than straight lines. The overarching characteristic of this system is that it expresses an orbital nature which holds a space in the centre. It speaks through the analogy of silken threads, the veils that glimmer in the periphery; it speaks of starlight. This language is an homage to the unseen blessings that hold the world together.

Biography

Thomas Alexis Codol

Thomas Codol is a self-taught artist from the California Bay Area who specialises in intuitive geometry. He primarily works with paper due to its unmatched capacity as a communicative medium. His works are an inquiry into the origin of pattern languages, the structural capacity of pattern, and how texture shapes the human experience of the spaces we inhabit.

In 2011 Thomas graduated from The University of San Francisco, with a BA in Japanese Studies and a minor in Architecture and Community Design. In 2008, in order to advance his undergraduate studies he attended a homestay immersion programme with the Hokkaido International Foundation (北海道国際交流センター), followed by a year long exchange with Ritsumeikan University (立命館大学) in Kyoto from 2009-2010.

After his Japanese studies, Thomas became interested in traditional Islamic geometry. He studied Islamic Art and Architecture History at SOAS from 2014-2015 and then continued his research into Islamic Geometry with annual site visits to Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Italy and Turkey.

Prior to attending the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, Thomas worked for seven years as a Rural Mail Carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in South Dakota. He practices kendo, travels the world, and loves to garden.